Songwriting

Sometimes I feel like the way I write music is a little peculiar. I don't sit down and strenuously work out music, like a boxer going 12 rounds with a melody. Some songwriters work that way, battling the music, using their intellect at every turn to ensure that their songs have the best possibly form and feel and progression and arrangement.

For me, songwriting is like a an epiphany. It's like this short, excited burst of creativity where melody and chord meet to form a song that I am usually decently happy with right away. 

I'm not saying that I'm lax about it or anything. During that creative burst, I consider many possibilities, especially lyrically, on how express a certain concept a certain way. Actually, even that isn't always accurate. Sometimes I just write filler words that fit with the music, to establish a mood, and then figure out what it is actually about later. It can be a pretty mysterious process. I am not always sure where it comes from.

So in that sense, songwriting is, for me, a mystery.

Now, I've also achieved some good results from sitting down and slogging through even when I don't feel like writing. It's more hit or miss than the whirlwind of creativity, but it might be more important in the long run because it's a skill that can be developed, rather that waiting for the wave to hit and riding it to the shore.

That's what I'm working on right now. How does the songwriting process work for any of you writers out there?