1. WRITE TO A BEAT - Search through loop-libraries and royalty-free libraries for ready-made instrumentals you can where you can add a topline.
2. RE-WRITE - Pick a song. Pull up the lyrics to the song. Set your timer for three minutes and re-write the chorus to it while still keeping the feel to the song. After you’ve finished, try plugging in your new chorus and seeing how it fits with the song.
3. GET MOODY - Put the shuffle on your music, and if you are feeling ambitious dive into an area of music you aren’t as familiar with. Listen to 3-6 songs on shuffle. As you are listening, write down every mood you feel or even think could tie into the song. Once you’ve finished take a look at what all you’ve written down. Was every mood or feeling the same? Where there any opposites? Did anything surprise you about the song?
4. FIND A BAG - Take a bag, purse or backpack and dump all of the contents out. What stories do the items tell? The crumbled up receipt . . . What happened that night? The pen . . . What has it written? Write a song about that.