Write Anyway
Last week was a disheartening time for the creative community to say the least. (If you missed the memo click here.)
It bothers me when someone suggests that the money shouldn’t matter and songwriters should get back in touch with why we started writing songs in the first place. I’d agree that if it was for money, it was the wrong reason. On the first day we picked up a guitar, royalties were the last thing on our mind. However, it's only fair that after putting in our 10,000 hours, if other entities are getting paid (in abundance) for the use of our content—we should too.
It's understandable that after 2 years of intense lobbying for change, songwriters would be feeling dispirited right now—perhaps not in the mood to jump back in the ring.
But if writers stop writing, (whether it’s 3-minute songs, a first shot at a screenplay, or a graphic novel) it would be the end of beautiful relationship: the relationship we have with ourselves—the one that matters most. It's a relationship in which we don't have to count on anyone else for it to exist. If we stop writing…a piece of us will die. :( So, while we’re on the journey of sorting out the nasty situation of the government regulating our income, I propose to you this:
When your royalty checks are shrinking, write anyway
When you wonder if you'll ever graduate from hobbiest to professional, write anyway
When you once made a living as a professional but now you’re hobbiest again, write anyway
When you don't know what to say, write anyway
When no one will listen, write anyway
When you can't think straight, write anyway—(especially when you can't think straight)
When it's inconvenient, write anyway
When your hands hurt from typing or tapping, or from moving the pen along the paper, write anyway
When you've run out of ideas, write anyway
When you're totally blocked and nothing has come to you for hours (or days), write anyway
When he broke up with you and you swear you can't go on, write anyway
When she broke up with u and you swear u can't go on, write anyway
When you'd rather go shopping, write anyway
When you'd rather do anything but write, write anyway
When nobody has reacted to a song you've written for months, write anyway
When your publisher doesn't return your call, write anyway
When your editor doesn't return your call, write anyway
When your mother is the only one who likes your song, write anyway
When even your mother doesn't like your song, write anyway
When you can't take any more rejection, write anyway
When you swear you suck (and maybe you do), write anyway
When you just had a huge hit and you think you can rest on your laurels for while, write anyway
When you hate yourself, write anyway
When nobody commented on your post, write anyway
When you're boring even to yourself, write anyway
When there are too many other things to do, write anyway
When you're tired, write anyway
When you're uninspired, write anyway
When no one will write with you, write anyway
When they swore your song was the first single and it didn't even make the album, write anyway
When you did get the single but it fell off the charts in a week, write anyway
When you just heard something someone else wrote and you know you could never write anything as good, write anyway
#Write Anyway because you have nothing to lose and everything to gain. Because you may find an answer to a question you didn't even know your had. Because you’ll probably discover a piece of yourself that brings you clarity. Because you are rarely sorry when you do. Because that relationship with yourself is too valuable to lose.
Thanks for reading. And listening. Click here to have a look at my book, Confessions of a Serial Songwriter. Follow me on Facebook. Instagram. Twitter. Click here to receive my blogs via email.