Developing a story first and then the song.

This morning I was inspired and wrote the first draft of a new song. I've been in a songwriting drought for the past few months, mainly because I was preparing for a show, so it's exciting to be back in the flow. I'm also excited by the process.

For the past three days, I started writing morning pages again. I'm also back to making up a new melody each night before going to bed.

This morning I started writing about compassion, before I woke up fully. My thoughts went to a discussion from the night before. I remembered one specific example and decided to flesh out the characters in the story. When I got stuck, I asked myself a few questions,
- What did it feel like, where would I feel it?
- What did it smell like? What did it remind me of?
- What did it look like? What were the colors/ shapes?
- What did it taste like?
- What sounds would I hear?

I also asked myself, how else could I describe it (i.e. metaphors). I ended up with a four page story which I edited down to a one page short story. At that point I picked up my guitar and modified a melody I developed the night before, it just fit. After a few hours, done. Time to get some coffee.

I recorded the song right away because the melody was pretty dissident. I doubt I could have figured it out again if I didn't get it down.