Give me 5 minutes and I’ll show you how to instantly find unique and interesting details to put into your lyrics.
The technique is called Object Writing and it’s so ridiculously easy that you’ll be pissed you didn’t know about it sooner. I learned it from Pat Pattison.
Here’s how it works:
First, gather your materials. You’ll need tools for writing like a computer or pen and paper. You’ll want a thesaurus or dictionary or any book that you have lying around. Object Writing works best when you have a timer.
Second, open the book you chose earlier and randomly pick any word. Alternatively, you could write about any object you see around you.
Finally, write about the word you picked using the following guidelines.
- Write from your senses (touch, taste, sound, smell, sight). In other words, avoid abstract ideas. Keep it real.
- Write with a timer. Keep the time short. 2 to 5 minutes is best. 10 minutes max.
- Don’t stop writing. It doesn’t have to rhyme or be in complete sentences. Keep writing rapid-fire.
That’s it. It’s simple. Now here’s why it works.
Sensory language is what connects the listeners to your writing. It follows the writing principle “show, don’t tell.” If you want your song to speak to your listener’s emotions, then you have to use language that resonates in the body. Emotions are embodied. You feel emotions. Emotions aren’t ideas that you think about. They are experiences. And experiences are real. So keep your language real and concrete. This is especially true for verses. Choruses can be meta to your verses. They can talk about the verse or the idea of the song. But your verses are the blood of the song. They live and breathe and the language should reflect that.
Object writing is the tool to develop your unique perspective. Only you can make the connection between an orange maple leaf and the smell of your lover’s wool sweater. With object writing, you tap into your personal experiences and memories and find your own unique perspective about life and the meaning of things. Object writing comes from your heart.
When you need quick stimulation, object writing allows you to dive in to the depths of your experience and pull out the relevant details that will make your writing interesting. It’s instant. And it gives you more choice because you have a vault of wonderful details to consider on the other side of your 5 minutes.
Here’s what an object writing session could look like:
Object: Leaves
Crunching under my feet I look down and see leaves of gold, burnt orange, and blood red. I imagine nostalgic moments of youth in the fall – argyle sweaters and jean jackets. Walks meant to soak up the last of the luke-warm sun and to hold hands with a young girl. Football and underage drinking. Parties too cold to be outside but too much in love to care. The leaves fall from the trees and they seem to stop in mid air as I imagine a September wedding…time stood still…I look around at the guests and they’re motionless, smiling, frozen in a conversation, and I feel blessed to be alive witnessing this moment of wonder and awe at the gifts of the heart. It’s my wedding day and the woman who these people are here to help me celebrate with is hiding in the house. Perhaps she’s peaking out of a window and maybe time is standing still for her too. And I wonder if she was the girl that some lucky boy held hands with in the fall of her youth. I can see them happy walking among the leaves on the sidewalk. The air is crisp and fresh. The sun falls to the west and my heart rises in the east. The past is romantic and the future is hopeful. The present is transfixed in an absolute moment of this – a celebration of love and happiness. A union of leaves to ground and separation from the tree. The aging bark is flexible and sways in the breeze and the scene begins to move again…leaves slowly falling, voices laughing, glasses clink and hearts open to the possibility of forever and ever.
See how simple it is?
Object Writing Hacks:
- Start your day with 5 minutes of object writing. Once your inner writer is awake, it stays with you all day.
- Object write from all parts of speech: nouns, verbs, adjectives, etc.
- Whenever you get stuck in a song, stop what you are doing and object write for a couple of minutes.
- The more specific the picture, the more emotion it creates.
- Before you begin, write your senses across the top of the page: sight, sound, taste, touch, smell, body, motion.
- Ignore rhyme, rhythm, and sentence structure. Your writing doesn’t have to be polished at this stage. Let it be ugly.
- Let the object take you wherever it wants. You don’t have to stay focused on the object. Follow the thoughts that arise.
Go ahead and take 2 minutes to do some quick object writing right here in the comments section. I’ll even get it started. 🙂
Graham English says
Object: Puppy
furry black and white puppy always running with his long tongue hanging out of his mouth. Little cute paws and a short constantly wagging tail. Looking up at me it jumps and jumps and gets so excited that it pees on the carpet and then retreats because it knows it’s done something bad but before long it’s wagging his tail again and yelping to play with him
Bryan Henry says
Great idea. This will really come in handy when I am sitting down with nothing but a blank sheet of paper.
Being new to songwriting I have found many days where I could find nothing I felt worth singing about. My usual process is to make a title and then just write random words down. While this works I find it very unorganized and does not make a great story when it is completed. My lyrics tend to be to general and not focused. I think this method may help out in future songs.
Thank you very much
Bryan Henry
http://bryanhenryns.blogspot.com
Graham English says
Yeah, you’re welcome. It really nails it down to a concrete task. Just write from your senses about an object. How simple?! 🙂
Lew says
object: Neighborhood
Kids play as the sun goes down in the west. Tired boys dribble a basketball and walk down the sidewalk as the light separates in pointed triangles wherever it can creep out. The horizon is partly in it’s way. A girl in a house watches longingly and she can almost feel the october breeze when she sees the hair of the boys pushed back lightly and naturally. She looks down and knows that she’s got a lot ahead of her, and quickly she steals another glance at the boys, gaining a quick, vicarious escape.
Graham English says
Love it Lew! You put me right there with “October breeze.” Awesome.
Mushin says
the tree in front of my window… have seen it, what a thousand times, tenthousand? Now bathing in the sun, warm, breaking through what’s left of the cold night. In patches here and there some crystallized water, moisture on the window as well.
Taking a deep breath I feel the current of joy running through my veigns. Pre-goose-bumps, a kind of flow right here with me.
Looking again some branches sway. There must be some wind – ah, the air I cannot see, sending me an imgainary chill. Seeing now the little bird, what’s-its-name? He can sing without a name, without me knowing his name, this bird.
When the storm was trees fell over. But I didn’t hear that. It was to loud – the wind. Blowing too hard as to find out if it was chilly; and it was Febuary!
Again the bird sings, an I still don’t know its name.
Graham English says
Great imagery, Mushin. I can really feel it in my body.
Kaleb says
Object:spring
Beautiful morning I awake to with warmth outside.I take a gaze at the idyllic site of melting snow still on the ground.The grass just starting to become green with every day that comes.Taking time to enjoy this moment,a light breeze comes down upon me.A spine chiller indeed,but somehow I cant help but enjoy the feeling.I crouch down and to touch the ground.Its still cold and leaves white spots on my hands, which turn back to their original color.I can cars driving on the long endless roads.As one passes me by an elder gives me a joyful look.How great it must be for him too,for spring to be coming along so well.I take a walk for it seems its been forever since I’ve had one.It becomes more and more chilly as I press forward.The wind gets stronger.I turn back.I make it home more quickly with the push of the wind against my back giving me speed.The wind dies down.I’m back where I had started.The snow finally melted.I can see a wonderful lawn in front of me as if it were gazing back at me.I can imagine it saying,”What a wonderful boy.”I just smile, and go back inside.A warm feeling of spring on me.
Ryan says
blue meanies fired anti music missiles at the natives which petritricfied them .. their guns shoot blue arrows which alblueterate people stare tired
apple bonkers blue purple and green walk each hill at stride dropping some big green apples on passers by they meet which is a nasy scene
the snapping turks eats kids toys and smokers with guns in their feet if stepped on shoots them in the foot next time wear hard boots
when at dusk their eyes glow in the dark and turn into a film projector in their night when on dutie
they drained the colors from their sight and covered in thorns and thistles
blue meanies have navy blue wooly bellys , got yellow teeth their lips are red lips they have mickey mouse hats on but their cheif has a hat with goofys ear and somewhat yet baffonish
here is some thing i refined .. i wrote it when i was stoned which enabled me to free up sensational equipment , free the nervous system, freed from usual patterns .. from a timothy leary session i heard from
flowing downstream to ride the warm waves
i’m on a trip its a ship leaving my ego,haze
far unseen in a corner of my mind
it rides downstream flows like a maze
flowing downstream shatters like glass falling
its what see it comes from me
riding off the stream unseen
teal or green its what i feel
odd or true its all from you
that boat drifts out of sight
Nolwe says
Sounds like a great way to start off your day. I don’t know if this helps anyone, but what I try to do every morning before I do anything else (sometimes I’ll shower first, though, but still) is the following mini-schedule: Stretch! (Normal, Yoga, whatever) Some light exercise (push ups, jumping jacks, something to get the blood flowing), light meditation (or anything that let’s you be at peace in that way), free writing (similar to the above writing exercise [words, not music]. I usually set a time limit of 5-15 minutes), diction/rhetoric exercises (just to try and improve speech and general eloquence), listening (pitches, intervals, whatever you want to warm up on), free improvising (another 5-15 minute time limit. You can warm up on your instrument first, if you’d like.), free composing (even if it’s only a few notes. I try to compose at least a small amount every day to get myself in the habit of composing regularly) and then I usually end with some more stretching and/or a small meditative bit. That collective whole is my daily goal; however, I’m not always able to do all of it. I hope this springs some ideas or helps someone out!
Graham English says
That’s a great strategy, Nolwe! Thanks for sharing. Very inspiring.
Jerry Dearborn says
puppy.that little black and white thing running up to you trying to get you to pet it.heavy breathing,panting chasing my car on the way out of the driveway.is it under my car?i didn’t feel a thump so it must be okay.i can hear the owner yelling,swearing for it to get back here ya dumb dog.once on the way there i saw a pug humping a poodle.why is this memory still in my subconscious?i will never know
Boss says
money:
it gets passed arond more than anything the human hand touches,
being traded away for human neccesities, green like the earths foundation,
but moves fluidly like the earths oceans, people work countless hours just to obtain this, they steal, some even kill just for the dollar bill, can be a coin,. round shaped or squared like a rectangle, It causes people to do things that they justifibly disagree apoun like prostitution or drug sales. we all touch this at some part of our life, this is money.
Robert Steel says
I’ve always found this method very rewarding and fruitful. Typically it spawns an idea or imagery that turns into a song. Often I find after doing this exercise a song sprouts. Great stuff everyone. It’s 3:15am. Otherwise I’d join in, but must get some sleep. Plus I’ve already written one song today, plus started about 6 others, one of those productive days. Take advantage of them when you can. Oh I guess I could post the lyrics from the one from today. Not my best, but hey don’t question it when it comes, just let it come out to be what it is.
GAIN MY COMPOSURE – 6/10/2008
I made a promise to myself a long time ago
I’d set out with fervor on the road I chose
But I broke that promise, I really, really broke it
So many years passed, so many lies
But I’m not gonna bitch and complain
Not gonna point the finger, not gonna blame
Not gonna cry or hang my head in shame
I’m just gonna gain my composure
I haven’t looked into my eyes in so many years
Afraid of what I will find there
I wanted to be a marine biologists when I grew up
But I grew up and look at me now
No don’t look at me
But I’m not gonna bitch and complain
Not gonna point the finger, not gonna blame
Not gonna cry or hang my head in shame
I’m just gonna gain my composure
Happiness is only a state of mind
I can choose to have it at any time
So can you so don’t bitch to me, just look in you
Besides if any of us really wanted it, we would have it
What I could do with all of that time
I chose to blame someone else for my life
If I had it all back surely at least
I could make a few million paper airplanes
But I’m not gonna bitch and complain
Not gonna point the finger, I hate that game
Not gonna cry or hang my head in shame
I’m just gonna gain my composure
Ted says
object: zelda’s sword
shiny but pixelated
constantly grey but sharp as a razor that can cut through a hair
deku nuts flying all around in the hopes of knocking spiders down from their webs
forresty green leaves awaiting your soft hands to climb them
running frantically across the room just to realize you need to go the other way
the bright light ahead becons you there
turning slowly as you swing on a green rope
the glimmer into reality – its as strong as your sword is