Originally posted by Raskolnikov
Their's a million ways to write a song. Me, I ususally start playing something these days, not a fully formed idea, but atleast 50% done. But I can't say "I'm going to write a song now" and sit down and do it, rather songs just pop out of me when I'm in the mood.
It all started with trying how two chords go together, then adding a third and so on until I had a progression I liked. Just mess around with stuff and eventually you'll come across something. As time goes on this will come more naturally.

Yeah, as the years progress we realize there really isnt a perfect spot or a perfect time in the day when a song idea hits us, we can't really predict when we'll be in the right mood. Sure we all get that urge to sit down and write the ultimate pop song, or the ultimate composition, but sometimes by doing so we put too much pressure on ourselves and end up fighting against the grain. The one one think ive always tried not to do is discard my original idea for the sake of finishing before a deadline, you can't rush a good idea..For me, my best material comes out when I'm not even thinking about, and sometimes its done piece by piece and other times its done in one take, (with the solo and everything.) But when it comes to songwriting, we can't fool ourselves, we know what sounds good, and what type of song we have in mind, and most of the time we won't settle for anything less...

-Joseph