I know, we’ve all been there, sitting in front of a blank page or staring down an instrument, waiting for lightning to strike. Sometimes it does. Most times, it doesn’t. That’s why I’m always on the lookout for practical ways to nudge the muse along a bit.
Recently, I came across a great piece over at Speed Songwriting titled “15-Minute Lyric Routines”, and it’s a simple idea that’s worth exploring.
The core message is… You don’t need hours of uninterrupted silence or cosmic inspiration to write good lyrics. You just need a consistent, focused 15 minutes a day.
Think of it like songwriting push-ups, short bursts that build muscle over time.
The article breaks it down into manageable chunks: routines like morning pages, timed writing, rewriting exercises, and even “free writes” around titles or themes. Each routine is designed to stretch a different part of your lyrical brain.
Some are warm-ups, others are workouts. But together, they help you build creative stamina.
My Take: Creativity Is a Garden, Not a Light Switch
This idea resonates with something I’ve believed for a long time, songwriting is more gardening than it is electricity.
You don’t just flip it on and wait for brilliance. You prepare the soil. You water. You prune. You show up even when it’s overcast, because that’s how things grow.
And these 15-minute routines? They’re your daily gardening tools.
As songwriters, it’s so easy to fall into the trap of thinking we need to be “in the zone” to write. But what if being in the zone isn’t something you wait for, but something you practice getting into? Just like athletes train muscle memory, we can train lyric memory, tuning our ear, strengthening our voice, sharpening our instincts.
Why This Matters More Than Ever
In a world that often pulls us in a thousand directions, carving out a tiny slice of time for your craft isn’t just helpful, it’s absolutely necessary and 15 minutes is short enough that it’s hard to find a real excuse not to do it, but long enough to get the wheels turning.
You won’t write your masterpiece in a quarter of an hour. But you might spark the idea that leads to it. And honestly, that’s half the battle.
Give It a Read… and a Try
Now, if you’ve been feeling stuck, scattered, or simply out of rhythm with your songwriting, I highly recommend checking out the full article: 15-Minute Lyric Routines. It’s packed with practical advice you can start using today.
And hey, why not set a timer and give one of the routines a go? You’ve got nothing to lose but 15 minutes and everything to gain, including a few new lyrical seeds that might just bloom into something beautiful.
