So I finally wrote something I like.

[Akira]

It's no big deal really, but I finally wrote something I like, it's only a riff, but I really like it, infact I want to turn it into an instrumental song.

This is the first time this has happened, usually I dislike everything I write.

So what are your experiences with writing things? Do you usually write something then have to actually learn what you wrote? Or does it all come quickly? Easy process? Hard? How do you balance song writing and learning other things?

Sorry, i'm just really curious, I think i'm finally hitting a creative phase.

[Cryptic Excretions]

I guess on an estimate I'm currently working on about 50 songs. None of which are complete, that is. I'm a slow song writer and the fact that I pretty much write songs by myself makes things slower. Some of the stuff I write I have to learn, just depends on how I compose it. It also seems natural to me that people would typically like some things they make more than other things they make. Writing is probably one of those things that is as hard as you make it. I tend to make it hard, at least I think I do. And that sucks because it gets to be like this pent up rage and you just want to let it all out, but you don't know how. So just keep to the books and keep learning and it shall all come together sooner or later.

[Jolly McJollyson]

I like a lot of things I write, personally. However, I write a gargantuan amount of songs/riffs etc. I guess law of averages says I should like some of it...

[CW14]

I have a whole archive of riffs on my computer. As soon as I come up with a half-decent riff or lick, I record it right away, sloppy or clean. Most of them are horse #$%@ but sometimes I come across one that I really like and then begin to write a song out of it.
Sometimes if I can't think of something, I can just listen through the massive file of riffs and pick out one that I may be able to expand on.

Even when I'm writing a song, I record it lick by lick. This way, you can listen through what you've got so far, and think about what should come next. Once the whole thing is recorded, that's when I go through and learn the whole thing properly if necessary.

That Kristal program kicks ass!

[PRSplaya]

I tend to do that too. I'll usually just be messin around and something will pop in my head, and after figiting with it for a while, I've got a riff. I usually will then record it before i forget it. If I can't come up with anything to accompany it or expand on it, I will set it aside and come back to it at a later date. I also tend to find several riffs that are somewhat similar or seem to "fit" together and adjust them as needed to create a song. It's sometimes like putting the pieces of a puzzle together.

[aschleman]

I do about the same thing as PRS... I do a lot of writing in my head though. While I'm at work I will come up with melodies and rythms for songs. Then I try to hammer them out when I get home. Sometimes they turn out they way they sounded in my head... sometimes I just can't get them to sound ANYTHING like they did in my head. Obviously those are the songs that I don't like. Sometimes though, I will have a riff that I'll start playing when I'm jamming with a drum track or something. Then I will record it and it will sound a little undesireable. That stuff happens... I'm glad you finally got one that you like though.

[Akira]

I guess it is like a puzzle like PRS said. I think part of me finally wanting to write something is due to me not thinking as linear as I used to.

And yeah, I did that too (the "thinking of something that sounds really cool then forgetting it" thing). On the way to meet Sophie, I thought of a really cool introduction for that song i'm trying to write, I had it figured out perfectly, it sounded awesome, but now I can't remember it all. :(

[Poontang_clan]

I have a whole archive of riffs on my computer. As soon as I come up with a half-decent riff or lick, I record it right away, sloppy or clean. Most of them are horse #$%@ but sometimes I come across one that I really like and then begin to write a song out of it.

i do the same thing usually i think something sounds good, i record it. Then after i get to sleep and hear it the next morning snd in my head i'd be saying what the hell was i thinking. But ocasionnally there are some that i like.

[Cryptic Excretions]

I do something similar, but I don't actually record everything right away. I write it all down. This helps me in a number of ways. I back it up, I can figure out the notation and time signature, and in my setup I can pick at it and see what works here and there and so forth.