S.A.C. Songwriting & Blogging Challenge Begins – Week 1

by Christopher Ward

Welcome to week 1 of the S.A.C. Songwriting & Blogging Challenge.  This week’s challenge is about Songstarters.  Three of the most effective ways to focus your writing are to choose:

• a title,
• a theme, or
• an opening line.

Titles like ‘Half of My Heart’ (John Mayer), ‘Like We’re Gonna Die Young’ (Keisha) and ‘Bridge Over Troubled Waters’ (Simon and Garfunkel) all tell you a lot about what’s to follow.

Themes like revenge in ‘Positively Fourth Street’ (Bob Dylan), regret as expressed in a classic song like ‘You Don’t Know Me’, and pride like in Katy Perry’s ‘Roar’ clarify the direction of the song.

An opening line can give you the mood, set the story in motion or make the listener curious about what’s next. Try thinking of songs you know that fall into one of these categories and then choose a category and come up with your own ‘songstarter’.

This week, watch the video below and come up a list of existing song titles, themes and opening lines that inspire you.  Find 3 for each category.  Then, come up with 5 titles, 5 themes and 5 opening lines of your own.  Choose one and write a song with it.  Blog about any epiphanies or obstacles you encountered while meeting this challenge and embed your new creation via SoundCloud.  When the challenge is over, you can revisit your list and use your remaining ideas as launching pads for new songs.

Deadline: February 24
Please post the following below in the comments section:
1.  A link to your website if you have one.
2.  A link to your blog entry for this week containing your titles, themes and opening lines.
3.  A link to your song on SoundCloud.

Have fun!