≡ Menu

Perfectionism Kills

byebyeA number of years ago, I was in a band called Dryve and I was hanging with a fellow band member  who was the main lyric writer in the band. He was the main lyricist for one reason- he was really, really good at it  -he wrote some lyrics that are still my favorite to this day.  Anyway, we were discussing songwriting and he said something that stuck with me –

“To write good lyrics, you have to be willing to write a whole sheet of words, get to the bottom of the page, and then throw away the entire page except for one line where you really have something.”

What? No. I wanted to write perfect, awesome, life changing lyrics from start to finish. I didn’t want to write garbage. I came across an article (via NRSP) the other day where songwriter Brett Dennen basically said the same thing-

  • Never, ever be an editor while you’re writing lyrics. Just pour out whatever comes naturally, and don’t let a single negative or critical thought enter your mind. And write a lot—write eight verses or more, without worrying about whether you’re being clever or poetic, or if the words even rhyme.
  • Now, bomb the hell out of what you wrote. Slash and burn. Delete, erase, cross out lines and words that don’t absolutely need to be in there, because those things only distract from your point.

The lesson to be learned here is perfectionism will stifle creativity and consequently, good music. If you really feel like you have something to say musically, lyrically or otherwise, don’t let perfectionism destroy your output. Produce and refine and if you have talent it will rise to the top.

Here is the ultimate example. Would Bono have turned into the incredible singer/performer he is today if he let this stop him?

partygirlclip

You hear that?  They actually released that to the public!!!  He didn’t let his imperfections stop him (and you have to admit, that is pretty rough) but he worked and worked and became the amazing vocalist he is today.

Do not strive initially to be perfect, strive to GET GOING and the perfection of your output will come in due time.

{ 10 comments… add one }
  • Sarka January 3, 10:02 PM

    Perfectionism stifles anything and perfectionists are one of the most annoying people in the world 🙂

  • Heitha January 3, 10:55 PM

    I love to be imperfect and fail! You know why? Because I learn from my mistakes!

  • Vonya September 19, 9:12 PM

    I think this is really applicable to our response to anything in life. We can try to come up with the perfect product, whether it be a musical piece, or a book… because we are afraid of failure. I had that experience writing my dissertation. I did crank half of it out, but had some kind of mental block to finishing those last few chapters. I would try to write, rework it all in my mind, and was unable to put anything down. And now I am too busy with my family to even think about it. To this day, there is a very dusty copy of this beast on a shelf in my garage. For now, it’s kind of unfinished business. It may remain that way. I’ve begrudgingly made peace with it…for now.

  • keith September 19, 9:45 PM

    Vonya, I wonder how much you will change when you finally come back to it. You’ll probably be at a very different place in life so you’ll have some fresh perspective I’m sure. Stephen King said just because something is hard to write, doesn’t mean it’s not good.

  • Vonya September 19, 10:07 PM

    Thanks Keith–I agree with what you said about being in a diff place and having a fresh perspective. I remember reading that quote from S.K. I have read quite a few of his books, although now I prefer a little less macabre genre as I think about it a little too much when I’m trying to get to sleep. I do read ‘The Stand’ every few years. That one is on my shelf.

  • Vonya September 19, 10:08 PM

    I’ll come back to these points you’ve made when I’m ready to start/finish this thing. Good article!

  • keith September 19, 10:20 PM

    I haven’t read one of his fictions in years but I just read a book he wrote about writing called ‘On Writing’. Great and informative read. I still can’t believe he wrote ‘Shawshank Redemption…

  • Jeff Shattuck September 20, 4:53 PM

    Keith,

    Good stuff, totally agree. Here two axioms I (try) to live by:

    1) Kill your babies. In other words, if you love a line but it doesn’t fit the song, chuck it or save it for another song.

    2) Don’t try to write and think at the same time. Think. Write. Think. Write. Reason: you can’t both try to figure what you want to say and say it all at the same time.

    Jeff

  • keith September 20, 8:08 PM

    Jeff, thank you for using the word axiom. It’s like axe, axle, axel rose, idiom, and axis bold as love all rolled into one.

Leave a Comment