Hey Norman,
Very nice to see and hear what you have going on. To me, one of the "MAIN REASONS" to co-write, is that it keeps you motivated, gives you a time limit, and FORCES you to pay attention to what you are doing at that time. Songwriters, poets, actors, authors, etc. are some of the most undisciplined people that exist. WE all suffer from ADD or ADHD, which I believe has something to do with the ability to create. Our minds can freely associate and we can put DREAMS into paper or voice. Most non-creative people can't do that and think in a much more linear way. They are very good about sticking to schedules and finishing tasks, but can be very dry and conventional because that is what that calls for.
With most co-writing (at least what I have been successful at) there is a certain time to sit down and work on something. There are two-three hours that are put into it focused on that and nothing else. There is a sense of PURPOSE that FORCES you to be disciplined on that subject.
Most of the people I have encountered who are vastly successful writers are great co-writers because that is what instills the discipline they need to be productive. A friend of mine, Bob Regan, hit writer and former president of the Nashville Songwriters Association, once talked about this in a workshop. He said, " I decided I wasn't writing enough on my own and wanted to see if I could still do it. I dedicated an entire month to writing only by myself. Once I started, I realized there were a thousand things that would come up and take my attention away. I would have to answer a phone call, check my emails and stock quotes, had to run errands, etc." After about two weeks, he gave up the solo writing for good.
Most solo writers I have worked with (and the majority of those that come to Nashville the first few times are solo writers) seem to write the same song over and over. If they have gone through a break up, every song is about that break up. If they have gotten married, or have a child recently, all the songs are about that. And a majority are just pale imitations of what they hear on the radio. Same chords, same progressions, same subject matter, same inflections. They are just parroting what they hear from others.
With me, the co-writers are the people that bring in the different personalities and life situations that make for the song.
Last week with Shaun Murphy, it was about her life and "getting in her own way." I realized that I did the exact same thing and the song came from all of that. Two days ago I had four people from upstate New York. Three of them are guys I've worked with before. One was one of those guy's daughters, who had written a long time ago but not sense.
One of the songs are about two of the guy's Father in laws. The two guys are married to sisters, so they had the same father in law and it was the daughter's grandfather. The details we used in the song were from his life. He actually loved old country music and went to this VFW bar all the time and used the jukebox as a time machine. So that became the song, about the details of his life.
Another works multiple jobs, and seems to be overwhelmed. he just wanted to be able to get back to LIFE instead of working so hard, and the details for that came out of HIS LIFE. That was the second song.
The third one,we didn't get so far on, only a verse and a chorus because it was a very difficult subject to figure out how to take. Something a younger person might (and I mean MIGHT) get away with, but no one past the age of 35 could do. Ended up finishing that one yesterday, but still don't really know if it is viable.
The point is that with all these people, the way that they get their writing done is by coming to Nashville and working with me. That is what gives them the focus and the time away from their normal lives, and demands on their time. At that little bit of time, they have to get songs written and help develop ideas that they will work on in the future. I also helped them outline some ways they can get more efficient at home together.
So to me, the co-writing is what enables us to do all that. It gives a time frame and FORCES us to have to get into and complete something. In my experience, it is very difficult to do alone. If you can find some people to work with that might be able to force you into a certain time configuration, even if it is long distance, skype, or whatever, it might help you with your ongoing delima. I have never seen a computer program that can do that. It can make it easier to put things down but I just haven't seen them create anything on their own.
Good to hear from you.
MAB
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