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edu Songwriting Handbook
Destination Writing
To make sure that the answer to that question on the previous page
is the latter, we’ll use a writing process called destination writing.
In destination writing, you begin with one keyword—a place—as
the momentum for your song content. You may be familiar with a
similar writing technique, called object writing, in which you use
your senses to expound creatively on a topic. For more information
on object writing, I encourage you to refer to the book Writing Better
Lyrics, by my Berklee Online colleague Pat Pattison.
The key to utilizing these songwriting tips for both destination
writing and object writing is to use all of your senses as springboards
for creativity. When senses are involved, the writing springs to life.
The difference between object writing and destination writing is
your starting point: your keyword. For destination writing, we’ll
write from a place, a person, or a time, instead of an object. This
way we not only practice the specific detailed writing needed to
draw our audience in; we also discover phrases and topics that
become the central ideas of our song lyrics. Destination writings
need not be perfect. Do NOT edit your paragraphs.
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Below are two paragraphs written about the same place, “motel
room.” The first lies flat, while the second actually intensifies the
experience of being in that motel room, making you feel part of the
story.
Destination Writing 1: Motel Room
I put my card in the slot and the light turned green. As I opened the door,
cold air came out. With my luggage behind me, I walked into the old-
smelling room. It had a small kitchen and drapes, and I could still smell
the food from past guests. The hallway had the same smell. The air didn’t
move out there, either.
Destination Writing 2: Motel Room
I swiped my card and waited for the little light to turn green. The door
stuck slightly and exhaled as I unsealed the vacuum and rolled my luggage
behind me into the room. It smelled musty and old, even though I could
still smell the nauseating scent of lemon cleaner that had been used to
disinfect the bathroom. Nursing homes have that same smell, mixed with
the tang of perm solution and instant coffee. I thought about how much
I missed you, how this would all be bearable if you were here. But you’re
not. The sour smell made the hairs in my nose curl. I felt the cold rush of
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air-conditioned air that had undoubtedly been cranked on high to dispel
the mold in the carpet and the smell of grease that flecked the drapes from
the residents who had cooked there before me. Those were the same smells
I caught rolling down the hall, breathing in the stale air that hung in the
hallways from lack of ventilation and the owner refusing to spend money
on heating and cooling these transitional areas …
By involving all the senses, the event becomes an experience. The
effectiveness of that experience is not contained within the idea
itself, but in the way that the details connect with the reader’s
emotions.
At this point you may be thinking, “These songwriting tips sound
good, but I just can’t write like that.” Well, I’m going to let you
in on a secret. Ready? You can write like that. The answer lies in
your use of tiny powerhouse words called verbs and adjectives.
You remember those from grade school, right? Very simply, verbs
describe movement. Driving, hopping, thundering; those are all ways
in which a person or an object could move. Adjectives describe the
characteristics of a person or object. Wicker chair, tattered quilt,
hopeful eyes; these words give personality to everyday nouns. Those
powerhouse words mean the difference between a bored audience
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and one that is hanging on your every word. Below are some
examples of more colorful substitutions.
Walk: Wander, stroll, march, step, strut, shuffle
Put: Lay, set, store, place, plant, fix
Say: Utter, breathe, blurt, pronounce, stammer, stutter, mouth
Shine: Glint, glare, sparkle, radiate, shimmer, flash, blaze, beam
Realize: Discover, find, determine, unravel, interpret, unearth
PRACTICE:
Like anything dealing with music, the most effective way to improve
your craft is to practice. Let’s begin practicing by choosing a
destination to focus on. It doesn’t have to be that motel room with
the stale air. It can be a bus station, a carnival, the back seat of your
grandmother’s car, or just about any place that you can think of, as
long as you’re able to lock in and lose yourself in the place you are
remembering or imagining. Okay, once you have the destination in
your mind, answer the questions on the following page in as much
detail as possible.
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• What are you standing or sitting on?
• What do you smell?
• What do you taste?
• What around you is moving?
• What do you hear?
• What clothes, jewelry, and hairdo are you wearing?
• What are you feeling?
Look over your descriptions from the exercise. Compare your verbs,
nouns, and adjectives with those listed below. If you find duplicates,
you may not be getting specific enough. Try replacing those generic
placeholders with some alternates and compare the results. Also,
locate any nouns standing alone without the help of descriptive
adjectives and give them a friend.
Examples of Generics: good, bad, food, walking, sitting, sad, smell,
taste, hear, big, small, pants, shoes, shirt, dress, earrings, necklace,
suit and tie, smile
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