Table of Contents

Key Takeaways

• Start with one clear sentence: In plain words, name what the singer realizes by the end. Let that sentence guide every line you write.

• Choose over generate: If you have too much material, stop adding. Highlight what’s strongest, remove what repeats, and keep what supports the idea.

• Let the chorus carry the message: The verses can set the scene, but the chorus should tell us what this song means. Build power through clarity and repetition.

• Write toward a moment: Don’t stay in a general mood. Aim the lyric at a specific turn—something admitted, understood, or finally said out loud.

• Finish before you perfect: Give yourself permission to write placeholders and obvious lines. A finished lyric can be revised; an unfinished one can’t.

• Do a first-listen test: Ask, “If I heard this once, would I understand it?” If the answer is yes, you’re ready to move on and share it.

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When I was eight years old, I wrote my first song. I wrote it with abandon, completely enamored with the idea that I could sing a melody above a few blocky piano chords, along with a few words that simply felt good to sing. When I finished, I hid it from everyone, too embarrassed to show my well of emotion on vulnerable display. 1000 songs and decades later, I’m still drawn back to the magic created when words and music collide.

As an adult, I value the practice and skill, but at the end of the day it’s the feeling I’m after, not the craft. That’s why I teach songwriting tools, to give anyone tools for reaching the feeling more strongly, more often, and more consistently.

Anyone can write, it just takes the desire to begin.

So, if you find yourself wondering how beginners write songs, or asking "Can a 12-year-old write a song?", remember: I started at eight. You don't need permission or perfection. You just need to start.

I hope these 6 simple tips for lyric writing help you finish your songs faster and with greater confidence. And if you’re looking for more lyric tools as well as melody, chords and groove, check out Becoming A Songwriter, a free full-length course on Youtube.

1. Decide What the Song Is About in One Sentence

During the writing process, and definitely before you call the song done, make sure you’ve finished the idea.

You’ll know you’re clear on your idea when you can summarize what the song is saying in one clear sentence.

The sentence isn’t meant to be poetic, but it does need to be meaningful. It’s the bottom line, the moral of the story, the thing that inspired the song to be written in the first place.

It’s what answers the question, “What does the singer realize, admit, or decide by the end?”

Once you have that sentence, every section or group of two lines either supports it, or doesn’t. If you stall mid-writing, and even if you don’t, take out your phone and record yourself talking about your idea.

Whittle whatever you say down to the most potent 10 seconds. That’s your idea.

2. Stop Writing New Lines and Start Choosing

Many unfinished lyrics aren’t underwritten, but overwritten.

When we have multiple verses, alternate choruses, or several versions of the same idea, our job isn’t to generate more material to supplant them. It’s to determine which sections are essential to supporting the idea of the song itself.

Try highlighting the strongest line in each section, and ask yourself if it’s what the listener needs to know, not just what you’re attached to.

Remove one of any two sections that repeat the same emotional content. Instead, look at your sections progressively through the song as "this thought leads to this thought, and so on.”

Finally, don’t hesitate to cut entire sections and let the song live without them. Finishing often comes from subtraction, not further inspiration.

3. Let the Chorus Do the Heavy Lifting

After we’re clear what the idea is for our song, we can check to see if the chorus is actually delivering the message.

The verses lay the foundation, establish the characters, and set the scene, but it’s the chorus that tells us what was discovered, learned, or realized.

If the chorus feels vague, unfinished, or interchangeable, the rest of the lyric won’t know where to point. When our choruses lose their mojo, a simple writing tactic can be to let it state just one or two core emotional truths rather than many.

To build the section out, repeat lines or phrases rather than adding new ideas.

When in doubt, work on the chorus as if you didn’t already have verses, writing it on a clean, white page. Once it’s clear, add the verses back in, knowing that their only job is to lead up to the lean chorus message you’ve already established.

4. Write Toward a Moment, Not a Mood

If your lyric feels like it’s circling the same emotional space without moving the story forward, look for a specific moment to aim towards.

Songs don’t have to resolve neatly, but they do need to arrive somewhere.

What this means is that songs tend to describe what we’ve learned, lived, loved, or lost. I suppose you could say that we go ‘through’ something, before we ‘do’ something.

The songs we write that don’t start with a problem or challenge still arrive at a destination, though there may not be a strong emotional shift. Theirs can be things like a truth that’s finally spoken, a sentiment of gratitude, relief or hope, or a simple expression of joy.

Whatever our message, we get there by illustrating specific moments throughout the verses that support the message and establish it as truth.

5. Finish the Lyric Before You Perfect It

Perfectionism is one of the biggest obstacles to finishing songs.

Remember that a finished lyric can be revised. An unfinished one just sits there.

Throughout the writing process, give yourself permission to write obvious lines, use placeholder words and lines, and end the song without loving every word.

Completion creates momentum, and momentum calls out for more consistent writing.

6. Ask the Song One Final Question

Before you call any song done, ask yourself one question: “If I heard this song for the first time, would I understand it?”

Don’t analyze, just feel.

Whatever appeals most to you about the experience, whether it’s the lyric, chords, melodies, or rhythms, see if you can immediately latch onto the element that vividly communicates what the song means to you. It’s the element that defines the song most in your eyes.

If that element is strong, remember that it can carry some of the imperfect weight the other sections bring. No song in any genre by any artist in any decade ticked all the boxes. Yours doesn’t need to, either.

Lead with your strengths, and know that the elements you enjoy writing most are often the elements your listener loves you for.

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Final Thoughts: Simplify and Release

Don’t let lyrics be the part of your song that keeps you from spreading your music. Simplify, record, release, and enjoy that with each new song you make, you’ll be that much more experienced with the process.

Stay creative,

Andrea Stolpe

Looking for more?

If you want to master not just lyrics but also melody, chords, and groove, join my free full-length course Becoming a Songwriter.