General
Text

How to Crush Writers Block In 100 Days

14 Lessons None

About this course

This called Diarrhea Of The Pen, an exercise my high school creative writing teacher taught me. The idea here is to go from a blank page to lots of words on a page, and possibly even some unconscious musings that could turn into songs. It's important to use a pen and paper instead of a computer, with spelling check and auto-correct. We want to get into a completely editor-free flow.

Instructions

Set a timer for 10 minutes. Two rules:

  1. You may not pick the pen up.
  2. You may not stop the pen from moving. If you can't think of anything to write, simply write "I can't think of anything to write" until something comes, it can be a word, an association.
  3. Read back through your writing out loud and highlight or underline any words or phrases that stick out. Copy them onto a separate page. We will use these later in the course.

Rigel's Example:  Download PDF

What to post

Do this exercise each day this week and you will become a master of tapping into your unconscious. Share the list of words and/or phrases, or the whole thing! If you are member post your work in the main feed , or inside the Crush Writer's Block group .

​

Questions and Feedback

Is there any part of the lesson that could be more clear? What would make your experience better? Are there any benefits to this exercise that I am missing? Please leave feedback in the comments below. For more immediate assistance shoot me an email at rigel@100daysofsongwriting.com

Learn more

Course Structure

ONLY FOR MEMBERS

Getting Set Up

The daily exercises in this workshop are meant to be something you can fit into 10-30 minutes a day using minimal tech setup.

ONLY FOR MEMBERS

Week 1: Diarrhea of the Pen

A creative writing exercise I learned from my high school creative writing teacher. This'll get the juices flowin'! Pun intended.

ONLY FOR MEMBERS

Week 2: Create A/B Melodies

Start with something simple and repeatable. Iterate until it turns into something you like.

ONLY FOR MEMBERS

Week 3: Sensory Writing

Master writing using only sensory language.

 

ONLY FOR MEMBERS

Week 4: Melody Hidden in Words

Find the melody inherent in every day speech.

ONLY FOR MEMBERS

Week 6: XAXA Rhyming with Melody

Write the lyrics in 10 minutes. Melody 10 minutes. Or just set your timer for 20 minutes.

ONLY FOR MEMBERS

Week 7: Melody Chords and Groove

This week we combine melody, chords and groove.

ONLY FOR MEMBERS

Week 8: Jump to the Heart of the Story

Skip the superfuluous details. Dive right into the action.

ONLY FOR MEMBERS

Week 9: Melody Shapes

Practice visualizing melodies on paper and diagraming song sections. What shapes are overused, which ones are missing?

ONLY FOR MEMBERS

Week 10: 6 Photos

Find deeper meaning in ordinary objects.

ONLY FOR MEMBERS

Week 11: Write a Chorus

Either grab chords from another song on ultimate guitar chords, or Use generic chords.

ONLY FOR MEMBERS

Week 12: Smash Two Songs Together

Find two different songs. Smash them into one.

Pen
>