Morning all! It's been a while. I hope everyone is doing well. It looks like the new SR is coming along nicely and seems like this thread is pretty active - that's great!
I apologize for my sudden dissappearance. I did not mean to fall of the face of the Earth! I had some personal stuff to address this summer, and well - I just felt OK taking a break from music for a bit. I never stopped coming up with melodies in my head, jotting down ideas and stuff like that, but I needed to just dial it back a bit. Honestly, it did wonders for me. I really needed to do it. I think MAB can attest to the fact that I was overwhelmed with life (he was witness to the projectile tears in his living room, lol)
Wanted to jump on and say hello -
MAB, I see you are ditching FB. I've done that in the past too - taken breaks from it. It all gets to be a little too much. I feel like it's turned into a giant brag book. And the selfies are out of control. LOL Kim Kardashian has a new book out - of just her 'selfies'!! Ugh!!! That turns my stomach. She needs to get over her self-y! I'm still on it, but I'm not near as active as I used to be. I comment here and there, but I used to be a major FB addict, and it's a time sucker, too. I'm sure you have your own set of good reasons to bail on FB. I think that more will follow to be honest.
I am finding that co-writing in person is the best way to go these days and will do more of that come September when my daughter gets back into school, although I did have my friend and co-writer Maureen over last week. Our daughters are the same age so they had fun in the pool while we finished up a song we were working on.
I've taken some time to look back on the things I've learned this year, music-wise. I think it's a really good idea to stop and assess your progress from time to time. I've learned so much and what is really cool, is that I think you can learn something new from every co-writer you work with. Whether you realize it at the time or not. Can't wait to get back to Nash and write my brains out 
Hoping sooner than later.
Just a few of the things I've learned this year, in case anyone is interested:
1) I've defintely gotten better with creating different melodies and not just going with the first one that pops in my head. Working it out to try and make it stand out from the other songs I've written.
2) Re-writing lines on the spot. I used to write what I would call 'place holder lines' - they rhymed and were 'ok' but I knew I would come back and make them better. That still works, but now I try to get to the 'better line' quicker, on the first try, because it can take the song into an entirely different (and sometimes better) direction.
3) Don't force yourself to write when you are really not into it. You will come out frustrated with fragments of a crappy song!
Ok, those are my 'pearls of wisdom' for the moment, lol. I will try and be better about getting on here, but I dont' think it will be near what it was. I really want to buckle down and write more songs, so time will be limited, unfortunately.
~ Melissa