EPISODE 004 This is how you can spark your imagination and start writing a song. See the show notes at www.storiesinsongs.com/004 ​ Hey and welcome back to the Stories in Songs Podcast. This is the podcast for musicians, songwriters, and storytellers who want to change lives and create meaning through the stories they tell and the songs they sing. Today we attack that nagging, frustrating feeling of sitting in front of an empty paper and not being able to make the pen start writing, or making our fingers hit the right keys on the keyboard. Today, we want to beat that blank white sheet of paper. So if you want to start with a new song and wonder if you have what it takes to come up with the lines that truly matter to someone, this episode is for you. After all, you have something to say and you ought to be able to share your message with others in order to make a positive impact in their lives. And I know what you’re going through. Sometimes, when I write my stories, I wonder too if those lines have the power at all to connect with someone on a hopefully deep personal level. Then I feel unsure if I should just stop and delete everything or throw it all out of the window. Is that what I am writing just meaningful to me or also to someone else? You know what? It is valuable. Everything that comes from who you are, your heart, your soul, your feelings and emotions, or even from anger or some form of rebellion, is worth getting out there in the world. Because you are not the only one who feels that way. Imagine, if no one would share how they feel or what they’ve gone through - or how they’ve overcome a challenge … every person on this earth would feel totally lost and alone. We would become self-centered if we’d think there’s no one out there who can understand us. But you are in the spotlight. You want people to follow you for what is important to you, because you feel like it’s important to so many others. EPISODE 004: HOW TO START TELLING A STORY IN A SONG www.storiesinsongs.com/004 1 So don’t let yourself be held back by that inner resistance of doubt. So here’s what we can do. And I’ll talk about each one of those steps in this episode. First, I’ll show you why it’s so important to trust the person you are and the power you have inside of you. Secondly, I’ll help you find a way to focus on one single thing that could spark your imagination and inspire you to start writing. That will burn inside of you. We’ll ignite that fire. That passion. That sense of urgency and need to get it out of your system. And thirdly, I’ll give you three different types of beginnings that you can use to start filling that blank sheet of paper with words. This won’t be a staring contest anymore. And you know how it ends. No matter how long you stare at that sheet of paper, you’ll always lose. Except for if your computer intervenes and the screensaver goes on. But with those three types of beginnings, you’d be able to just make that paper yours. It’s not your enemy. It’s your friend. So you’re ready to get started? Awesome, me too! But here’s a short reminder: Now if you haven’t done so already, please subscribe to the show. If you don’t want to miss out on how you can revolutionize your songwriting to make a meaningful impact in the world, then hit the button ‘Subscribe’ right now before you continue listening. Thank you! 1. The power inside of you [00:03:34] I’d love to start off today’s episode with a quote from a short story I’ve recently ​ read. It’s taken out of “The Truth of Fact, The Truth of Feelings” by Ted Chiang. Here’s what he wrote: “People are made of stories. Our memories are not the impartial accumulation of every second we’ve lived; they’re the narrative that we assembled out of selected EPISODE 004: HOW TO START TELLING A STORY IN A SONG www.storiesinsongs.com/004 2 moments. Which is why, even when we’ve experienced the same events as other individuals, we never constructed identical narratives: the criteria used for selecting moments were different for each of us, and a reflection of our personalities. Each of us noticed the details that caught our attention and remembered what was important to us, and the narratives we built shaped our personalities in turn.” This is an amazing way of how you can see yourself and the stories you bring into this world. Gosh, it’s just awesome to think that each of us shapes our story through who we are, what’s important to us and what we feel and consider as valuable and meaningful. And so it’s true, every single one of us has their own story to tell. But that doesn’t mean we’re alone, just because the stories differ from person to person. They certainly do because a story is what makes us Us. It’s what shapes who we are and who we become. But still, if we start telling stories, we’re able to connect with people who share the same values, who go through the same struggles as we did, who face challenges or are reminded of how valuable something they’ve got in their lives truly is. And they look to us, to the people who share their stories, because they sometimes even need us to be their guide. To help them navigate their lives, to make the right decisions and be reminded to listen to what their heart or their guts tell them. Telling stories can do all that. And not in a preachy old fashioned kind of way. But we take our listeners on an adventure. On their own adventure, because our listeners are the heroes of their own lives. They write their own stories. But we can still participate because every hero needs a guide. Someone to trust and someone to count on when all falls apart and they have no idea how to go on. We can make an impact. Every songwriter, every storyteller, every person can. All by sharing what we’ve gone through in life and making it accessible to others. That doesn’t mean I want you to spill your guts and be an open book. But I want you to tap into what’s important to you and think of the things that shaped the person you’ve become. Start with the little incidents that made an impact on you. I don’t want you to be the hero. You don’t need to be anymore. You’ve gone through your struggles and you’ve made it through. Or maybe you’re still struggling, but you’ve already been at it for so long that you are able to let people participate and maybe even warn them in telling them what got you to that point or what you’ve already tried to get out of that place you’re in. EPISODE 004: HOW TO START TELLING A STORY IN A SONG www.storiesinsongs.com/004 3 All I’m saying is there’s so much potential in the person you are and what you’ve already been through in life, that you just need to look at yourself or even remember what you’ve seen others go through - good or bad - and share it with your audience. People connect with someone and trust someone who seems authentic to them. And you can only be authentic if you are you and stay true to who you are. So I encourage you to not hide who you are or what makes you you. Show it to the world. If you want your songs to resonate with your audience and let your purpose drive you - hoping to give some guidance, hope or a sense of belonging back to the people who listen to your songs, then this is your chance to create something meaningful. 2. Write about what inspires/drives you [00:07:58] Okay, now that we’ve talked about how only you have the power to make an ​ impact in the lives of the people who can relate to what you’ve experienced and what you share with them, it’s time that we take that blank sheet of paper and draw a circle right in the middle. Yes, a circle. Or make it a triangle, a square, a heart … whatever shape you want. If you use a computer, turn it off and just get yourself some paper. Remember, the idea is that we have to find a beginning so that we can write a finish a song. Where there’s no beginning, there’s no end. There’s nothing. So let’s draw a shape of your choice onto that paper. Right in the middle. And if you’re angry, let your frustration out and scratch the pen over the paper as if you wanted to erase that blankness with all the force you got. The idea is, that we fill that paper. No matter what. Okay, if you got that paper in front of you now.