Give your chorus something to say.
Learn how to write a chorus around one clear idea, with an original before-and-after example and a practical writing exercise.
Read the guide: Give your chorus something to say.The songwriter’s notebook
Better songs
start with
one good line.
Find the words. Shape the story. Make something that sounds like you.
A little direction
for wherever you are.
I have an idea.Give it a shape.Start with a song-planning worksheet.I have a draft.Find the stronger line.Try three focused revision passes.I am staring at the page.Change the starting point.Pick a small, useful writing constraint.A good place to begin.
Original examples. Clear decisions. Something to try.
Make your next line count.
25 guides
Who gets to tell this song?
Compare first, second and third person in one original lyric scene. Choose a speaker, identify the listener and check what each voice can claim to know.
Read the guide: Who gets to tell this song?
Find the title your draft can carry.
Choose a song title by testing five phrases from your draft. Compare an original bicycle-repair lyric, name each title's tradeoff and make one useful revision.
Read the guide: Find the title your draft can carry.
Same scene. Three ways to rhyme.
Compare AABB, ABAB and ABCB lyrics using one original film-night scene. Label each version in the rhyme planner, test the tradeoffs and save a usable draft.
Read the guide: Same scene. Three ways to rhyme.
Make room without losing the line.
Shorten a crowded lyric with a word-by-word cut test. Compare an original verse, a careful edit and an over-cut version, then save the meaning and voice you need.
Read the guide: Make room without losing the line.
Know what makes your song shorter.
Calculate song length from bars and BPM, then compare shorter choruses with a faster tempo in the structure builder. Includes three worked plans and a timing log.
Read the guide: Know what makes your song shorter.Give your chorus something to say.
Learn how to write a chorus around one clear idea, with an original before-and-after example and a practical writing exercise.
Read the guide: Give your chorus something to say.
Your second verse needs somewhere to go.
Write a second verse that develops the story rather than repeats the first, using three original alternatives and a scene-changing exercise.
Read the guide: Your second verse needs somewhere to go.
Let the bridge change your mind.
Learn how to write a song bridge that changes perspective, with an original example and a practical test for whether your song needs one.
Read the guide: Let the bridge change your mind.
Put some movement inside the line.
Explore internal rhyme with an original annotated verse, a sparse-versus-dense comparison and an exercise for keeping meaning first.
Read the guide: Put some movement inside the line.
Keep the scene in its intended time.
Repair accidental tense shifts in a verse without flattening memories or dialogue. Compare original lyrics, audit the verbs and save a clear revised draft.
Read the guide: Keep the scene in its intended time.
Make the words feel good in your mouth.
Check lyric stress, syllables and breathing with a spoken exercise, an original revision and a practical singability checklist.
Read the guide: Make the words feel good in your mouth.
Make one line change the next.
Connect lyric images through action and consequence. Compare an original verse, a broken sequence and two endings, then save your own four-line revision.
Read the guide: Make one line change the next.
Give a later chorus a reason to wait.
Compare an early and delayed first chorus using the same original lyrics. Build both orders, preserve section notes and export a plan with a clear reason for waiting.
Read the guide: Give a later chorus a reason to wait.
Keep the feeling. Make the line better.
Revise lyrics in focused passes for meaning, imagery, rhyme and singability, with an original example and a practical editing checklist.
Read the guide: Keep the feeling. Make the line better.
Move between then and now.
Connect a present scene, a childhood memory and a return using one object. Write audible time cues, compare two orders and leave with a clear twelve-line draft.
Read the guide: Move between then and now.
Find a rhyme that leaves you room.
Use slant rhyme to avoid forced lines, with sound-based examples, an accent caveat and a practical meaning-first writing exercise.
Read the guide: Find a rhyme that leaves you room.
Start your song inside a moment.
Draft a first verse that gives listeners a place, people and a reason to listen. Includes an original before-and-after example and a ten-minute scene exercise.
Read the guide: Start your song inside a moment.
Count a verse. Keep the way you sing it.
Test an eight-line lyric in the syllable counter, correct a pronunciation-dependent count and compare two revisions without losing the story or natural phrasing.
Read the guide: Count a verse. Keep the way you sing it.
Let one spoken line carry the tension.
Turn reported speech into one revealing line of dialogue. Compare three spoken lines, make the speaker clear and write an action that answers without explaining.
Read the guide: Let one spoken line carry the tension.
Same line. A different reason to say it.
Give a repeated lyric new meaning through its surrounding scene. Compare three original verse endings, repair a redundant return and map your own refrain.
Read the guide: Same line. A different reason to say it.
Write the hook before its rhyme.
Find a lyrical hook without forcing an end rhyme. Compare three endings of one original phrase, test the delivery and leave with a hook you can develop.
Read the guide: Write the hook before its rhyme.
Let the last line change the verse.
Compare three endings for one original verse: a direct summary, a revealing fact and an unresolved action. Leave with a chosen line and a reason to keep it.
Read the guide: Let the last line change the verse.
Give the post-chorus a job.
Does your song need a post-chorus? Compare an echo, a new response and a vocal gap after one original chorus, then save a decision you can test in your demo.
Read the guide: Give the post-chorus a job.
Give your pre-chorus a reason to exist.
Write a pre-chorus that leads somewhere. Compare two original transitions, test the chorus arrival, and draft your own two-line lead-in in a ten-minute exercise.
Read the guide: Give your pre-chorus a reason to exist.
Trade the big feeling for a small detail.
Write more specific lyrics by turning abstract feelings into observable actions, with original revisions and a five-senses exercise.
Read the guide: Trade the big feeling for a small detail.Less friction, more writing
A few tools for the messy middle.
Rhyme scheme planner
Plan a lyric rhyme scheme with editable lines and sound-family labels. Compare AABB, ABAB and freer patterns without forcing a rhyme.
Song structure builder
Build a song structure from verses, choruses and bridges. Reorder sections, estimate the length, add notes and download your outline.
Songwriting prompt generator
Choose a songwriting skill and draw a practical prompt with a clear constraint. Includes an editable notebook and a way to continue your draft.
Syllable counter
Estimate syllables in English lyrics, correct each line by ear and compare phrase lengths. Free, private-in-browser and useful for revision.
Take the page with you
Some ideas need
a pen first.
Printable worksheets and checklists for the desk, the rehearsal room, or the back of your bag.
Find a worksheet