FAWM 2010 - Success!

Well, I did it.

Not only did I accomplish the goal of writing 14 songs in 28 days, but I actually wrote 16!

So, here you go. They're not all keepers. In fact, probably few of them are. That's not the point, really.

The point is, write, write, write.

And that's what I did.





I'll have more thoughts on this year's FAWM later, but since time is up, as they say, I wanted to post the fruits of my labor.

FAWM Thoughts - February 15 - The Month Is Half Over!

Since it’s the middle of the month, I thought I would do a short recap of the challenge so far, and add some muddled thoughts.
1. Writing 14 songs in 28 days is hard!
I don’t do anything music-related during the work week, so my weekends are completely consumed with FAWM. I’ve had a couple of three-day weekends (thankfully), and I have FORCED myself to pick up the guitar every day. There were days when I had ABSOLUTELY NOTHING, and yet I still managed to come up with A song. Not necessarily a good song; but a song nevertheless.
I’ve still managed to feed and walk the dog, do laundry, do some housework, and catch up with The Office, but in the back of my mind, I’m always thinking about or looking for song ideas.
I find myself looking at product labels and wondering if there’s a song in there. Or looking at random inanimate objects and wondering the same thing. It’s pitiful.
2. I’ve written some pretty good songs!
I’ve surprised myself by coming up with some winners (comparatively). Interestingly, when I’m doing the songs, I sometimes consider them to be throwaways; it’s only after a few days and a few subsequent listens that I realize they’re not bad!
3. My songwriting skills have taken leaps forward!
I definitely see the improvement in my skills, and that’s pretty exciting!
4. I’ve gotten out of my comfort zone.
My goal was to write songs in different styles, and I’ve done that to some extent. Those actually are the songs I like the best, in retrospect.

5. I feel guilty for not commenting enough on other people’s songs.
By the time my evening of songwriting is done, I’m too exhausted to do anything, but I will be going back and listening to a whole bunch of songs. Once this madness is over.

6. I just don’t have the will or the time to post each song individually and to tell the story of them.
I started doing that, but now that I have 12 songs, it’s gotten to be too big of an undertaking. Once this whole thing is done, I’m going to load them into one of those jukebox thingies and post ‘em all in one neat package.
7. I’m not sure at this point if I would do it again next year!
But I probably will. It’s like childbirth. After awhile, you forget the pain, and then you do it all over again.

It's February Album Writing Month (FAWM)!

Here we go again! It's time to try to write 14 songs (an album's worth) in 28 days!

This'll be my third year participating in FAWM, and I aim to be more successful this year. Okay, it shouldn't be difficult to be MORE successful than I've been in previous years, since my past output was awful. I always have good intentions in the beginning, but I either get sidetracked or discouraged or both.

This year, however, I'm more excited than ever to get started.

The premise of FAWM is to get MOVING! Since one has to write fast in order to complete the challenge, there's no time to agonize over every word; every line. Just write! It forces one to be creative on the fly.

Participants can write complete songs, or simply lyrics, or instrumentals, and they can keep their results private, if they choose (it's not a competition with others; it's a competition with oneself.) However, by sharing their creations with other FAWMers, they receive something really nice, that isn't found often enough on internet sites, and that is POSITIVE feedback. FAWMers are very ENCOURAGING toward their fellow songwriters. That's the part I like the best! Songwriters tend to be an insecure lot, and as for me, I do not willingly share my creations with others; frankly, because I feel that my songs are not GOOD ENOUGH, and I don't want to look like a fool.

FAWM, however, includes songwriters of varying levels of expertise, so I don't feel like an outsider or a wannabe.

Also, their forums are fun, entertaining, and enlightening. There's even a forum for collaborations, if one is into that sort of thing. Oh, and there are (optional) challenges to give those creative juices a nudge.

I was thinking today that if by some miracle, I actually completed the challenge this year, it would be cool to have an actual "album" of my FAWM songs. Unfortunately, all I've got to work with is a microphone and Audacity, so it'd have to be "Shelly's Acoustic Collection". Maybe I'll just make a promo copy for myself!

In summary, if you are a songwriter looking to challenge yourself to write better and write MORE, check out FAWM. It's really a lot of fun.

The Frozen-Dog Days of January

Reading song lyrics lately just depresses me. They all seem so contrived. It's like it's a trick.

Maybe it's just the frozen-dog days of January that have me in a funk.

I just can't bear to read another "drinkin' Jack Daniels, scopin' out the ladies,", or "my tractor is big and ugly". Are there any other topics besides tractors and pick-ups (of the opposite sex kind)?

Any "heart" in anybody's songs anymore? Any soul?

All I can think of right now is:

Hello darkness my old friend
I've come to talk with you again

Seems like the writer had a little heart; a little introspection.

Ah, but that's not what the market wants, now, is it?

It's all just a trick.

Is Today's Music Missing the "Feel"?

Other people tend to articulate things way better than I can. I browse a couple of songwriting boards every day on my lunch break (when I get one!), and a writer I admire (who's actually grabbed the brass ring, and has had at least one number one hit song), wrote a couple of days ago, "I no longer like country music as a whole and especially as a pursuit from a writers perspective."

So simple, yet to the point.

I actually don't know who likes country music anymore. At least, not the country music on the radio. I bet I could query a few icons of country music, and if they were honest, they would admit that they don't like the country music that's played on the radio.

The songwriters don't like it. They're just trying to make a living. (I do a lot of stuff I don't like, too, because I have to make a living).

Another board (that's much more amateurish) gives writers a place to post their lyrics, and for the most part, they're just awful. I think it's because they're all trying too hard. Over-thinking stuff just never really worked for me. 99.9% of the songs that I've "over-thought" have never seen the light of day. I recognize crap when I hear it, especially my own.

Music is meant to be felt. Yea, technically, it's meant to be "heard", but a true music lover knows what I mean. If you're not feeling it, forget it.

My favorite songs aren't "technically" perfect. I don't like my music sterile. It makes me wonder why the four million, five hundred thousand, two hundred and fifty two songwriters out there are so worried about finding the perfect (yet clever!) rhyme for nights. (Me included).

Just feel it, and maybe the rest will take care of itself.

On a related note, my favorite blogger, Craig Bickhardt, posted A Blissful Surrender this week. Poetic, as always.

And so, so true.

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Writing Again

It seems like I've spent all my time lately trying to get a (any) computer to work.

It's been a QUEST. As Clark W. Griswold would say. Not a quest to find Marty Moose, but nevertheless a quest to just get things to WORK.

My "main" computer died. I haven't buried it yet, but I'm seriously thinking of taking a hammer to it, because that would make me feel a whole lot better.

My backup computer, well, it's a backup computer. What can I say? I got dang tired of the limitations of Windows ME (yes, Windows ME; that's how old the computer is), so I thought, hey, I've still got my installation disk for Windows XP. Let's try that! Surprisingly, after clicking through countless error messages, I actually got it to load!

Then, unfortunately, my computer didn't recognize my sound card. What the heck was I going to do without being able to listen to audio? So, I did a Google search and found a program that repairs stuff such as this, and again I was pleasantly surprised, because it worked.

Now, however, it won't read my external hard drive, so I'm faced with the dauntless task of re-adding all my music back onto my computer (yea, like THAT'S going to happen). It kind of makes one a bit more picky about their music. I'm currently loading Merle Haggard.

While I was messing with all this (because it tends to be time-consuming), I worked on a few songs. Four, to be exact.

I'm a gal who likes to multi-task, so why go with one song when you can work on FOUR?

The sad part (to me) is, they're sitting somewhere on my external hard drive, which my current computer doesn't seem to recognize, but I think I've got them seared into my memory anyway, so I haven't actually lost them.

And, it seems, I'm working my way through the middle part of the alphabet, because here are my current songs:

F - Fireworks Stand
G - Get Back To It
H - Hello, Old Friend
I - I Will Never Forget You

This whole computer mess has somehow allowed me to be more creative. Maybe it's because when one part of the brain is severely irritated, another part of the brain takes over. I think it keeps one from going insane. It's a defense mechanism.

I wonder what people in the olden days (before computers) did to become enraged. Surely, there must have been something. Maybe the old wringer washing machine broke down.

If the new millenium teaches us anything, it's that life is a series of frustrations. Just when you think things are going good, life smacks you upside the head, to let you know who's actually in charge.

But I've got the last laugh. Because I've got FOUR, count 'em, FOUR new songs. And, if only two of them turn out to be keepers, well, there you go. That's two more than I had before. So, Bill Gates, thanks for everything.

I am now loading George Strait onto my computer. Dwight will be next.

Starting from scratch is actually kind of liberating. It's like a do-over. I have now purged all the extraneous songs from my computer that I sort of, kind of liked.....one time. And now I can be a bit more selective.

And it has definitely liberated my creativity. So, the glass is half-full. Unfortunately, not half-full with wine, which I could really use right now.

And then I could drink a toast to creativity (yea, that's the excuse!).

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Creative Genius

(I copied this post from my soon-to-be "on hiatus" blog, "Getting Heard". I peruse a few songwriting boards, but I've yet to see this posted anywhere, which completely surprises me. I think this video is excellent. I found this via Derek Sivers' excellent blog.)

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I watched a fantastic video of a speech made at the TED Conference by author Elizabeth Gilbert, regarding creative genius. It's nineteen minutes long, but the time will fly by.

If you are a creator of, well, anything, please watch this.



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