how to write a song

You Were Always a Songwriter (You Just Forgot the Melody)

There’s something ancient in you that remembers rhythm.
Not because you studied it.
Because you are it.

Before the industry, before formal training, before you told yourself you weren’t “that kind of creative”—you were already making songs.

They lived in your footsteps, your journal entries, your half-sung voice notes, your rants in the kitchen.

Maybe it’s time to bring them back.

 

What If We’ve Been Lied To?

Somewhere along the way, we started believing creativity was a luxury. That songwriting belonged to professionals. That making music required money, gear, “talent,” or fame.

But think about this: Birds sing. Not because they have a record deal. Because it’s how they know they’re alive.

You’ve probably written a song already—
you just didn’t call it that.

 
 

Songwriting as Everyday Alchemy

What is a song, really?

  • A feeling you didn’t know how to explain

  • A moment that needed to be marked

  • A rhythm that started in your chest before it ever hit the air

Maybe it shows up as:

  • The way you pace when you’re overwhelmed

  • That one line that keeps repeating in your mind

  • A phrase you say often, like a catchphrase your soul keeps trying to get your attention with

Songwriting is how we metabolize experience.
It’s self-help that sounds good.
It’s therapy that doesn’t require sitting still.
It’s a personal protest against numbness.

Creativity Lives in the Mess

Forget clean notebooks. Forget “doing it right.”
The best songs start in chaos—in car rides, closets, breakdowns, daydreams, showers, and late-night voice memos.

This is not about being productive.
This is about being honest.

Creativity, when it's real, isn’t tidy.
It’s revolutionary.
It’s weird.
It’s deeply local, fiercely independent, and unmistakably yours.

But What If I Don’t Know Where to Start?

Start by listening.
Not to the charts.
To yourself.

You already speak in rhythms.
You already think in chorus and verse.

Try:

  • Writing one line that hurts a little

  • Singing it with your eyes closed

  • Giving yourself permission not to share it with anyone

  • Or…maybe, eventually, share it with someone who gets it

There’s no wrong way to write a song.
The only mistake is assuming you can’t.

 

Local Magic, Global Echoes

There’s something special about songs that come from real places.

Not cities—moments.
Not studios—kitchens.
Not algorithms—hearts.

This isn’t about going viral. It’s about going inward.
And maybe, quietly, outward.

Your song might be exactly what someone else needs to hear to remember that they, too, are made of melody.

You Don’t Need a Guru

You need space.
You need trust.
You need the right nudge at the right time.
(Not a course. Not a five-step funnel. Just…a whisper of permission.)

Sometimes, reading a post like this is enough to start.
Sometimes it’s a podcast you stumble on, a stranger’s workshop, a journal prompt.

You’ll know what’s for you.
When it’s time, it’ll feel like something cracking open.

Songwriting Is Not a Career Path (It’s a Survival Skill)

Even if you never release anything…
Even if no one ever hears your work…
Even if your lyrics stay locked in the Notes app forever…

You’ll still be changed by the act of writing them.

That’s the real point.

Writing songs is how we stay human in a world that keeps trying to automate us.

A Quiet Suggestion

If you feel like you’re circling this idea—
If something in you is humming right now—
If you’ve made it this far down this page…

Maybe it’s not an accident.

Maybe you’re supposed to write a song this week.
Maybe you’re supposed to hear from someone who reminds you it’s okay to start messy.
Maybe that person is already in your orbit.

You’ll find what you’re looking for.
Often in the small, scrappy corners.
Often when you’re not even looking.


A Final Thought

Songwriting doesn’t belong to the elite.
It belongs to the broken-hearted, the overly sensitive, the too-much, the overthinkers, the daydreamers, the ones who feel like their voice might not matter.

It matters.

And it doesn’t have to be loud to be heard.

🕊️
Write something today. Even if it’s just one line.
The rest will follow.
It always does.

How I wrote "Inhale Exhale (You Got It Now)"

 
 
 

My inner journey through the birthing of my upcoming single “Inhale Exhale (You Got It Now)” is one I think a lot of us are going through right now. Yes, I’d come a long way and was generally happy. But I got stuck in this cycle where everyday I found a new reason to criticize myself, and everyday I found my way back home to me. I’m glad I could find my way back to my center so reliably, but GEEZ it was prettay unpleasant and frankly, inefficient, to have to do this shit every day. Like, I know how the story ends now, why do I always start at the beginning? I felt like Sisyphus, only stupid & self-imposed. After all I’ve been through in situations I can’t control, why is THIS internal battle now keeping me from enjoying my life. Am I stupid? Then, I realized- I’m doing it again! Right now! Now I'm criticizing how critical I am towards myself- when will it end??? So I did what I knew I must do. I softened. I relaxed. I gave up. Surrender, I think they call it. I wanted to finally alchemize all this into a song (because that’s how I process things), to help me gain closure through a more complete understanding and finally close the cycle. I grabbed my Taylor guitar and started playing the chords of some of my favorite songs, most notably Red Hot Chili Peppers’ “Snow, Hey Oh” and “She’s Kerosene” by the Interrupters. They are A minor, F, C, G (how I play them anyway, I think the original “She’s Kerosene” was in Bm… but, I digress). Super sweet and simple. The words flowed so quickly which usually means I forget immediately, but this time they were so succinct, so simple, so poignant that they came clearly back again so I could write them down. It felt like I was writing on behalf of so many souls who are waking up to the fact that we are allowed to be happy now. We are allowed to take care of ourselves and anchor into our beautiful optimism. 


If you want to hear me talking about this (not by typing but with the sounds from my face hole) you can listen to my podcast episode about it. I go into painstaking detail and yet barely cover what went into it. Such is art.

Love you for reading!

As always, let me know if you resonate! I love our conversations <3