"The most creative end of the pencil is the erasure" as the saying goes.

Why, because anyone can put pencil to paper and write, it's the one who can step back, critique their work, erase it and make it better that wins in the long run.

 

  1. You don't have to erase all of it
  2. Take what you erase and save it as inventory
  3. Challenge yourself
  4. Allow an idea to incubate
  5. Invite others to collaborate or just bounce it off them (be thick skinned)
  6. The creative process is constantly going on, whether (a) consciously set in motion (b) an example of unconscious creation (c) control is necessary (d) and that creation is first spiritual, then mental. (Thomas Troward, The Creative Process)

The minimum requirement for writing a song is that one single flash of an idea.  A hook, a single line, a melody, a beat. Always be open to anything that pops up from your subconscious into your conscious.  Be ready to document it as quickly as possible.  The best tool these days is a simple app on your phone.  You always have your phone, the app should be instant and you can record anything!

Understand and accept the belief as Ernest Holmes taught that ""the creative universe is a spiritual system governed by immutable laws of cause and effect."  Studying the creative process in any format helps to "chum the waters of your mind" in order for bigger ideas to be attracted.  Steve Johnson shows this well in this whiteboard animation.