Lyricist in Need of Help

Although I frequently write songs as a hobby and have won a contest recently, I'm not sure if I--or anyone else--can provide legitimate help. And not just for a song, mind you, but for writing in general. I find that writing has to come from a very personal place. Fabricating this through tips articles and outside advice is just more of a distraction I feel. You spend time trying to conform to what others say may help, and all the while you skip over that part of yourself that enables the writing to begin with. When I'm hunting for lyrics, I listen to Led Zeppelin. Obviously this is just something personal to me. But what it is so special for me about that is that Robert Plant's voice is the perfect complement to Jimmy Page's guitar. They sound so together. This then inspires me to feel the music in my head rather than just hearing it. The rhythm turns into a hum, which turns into words, which merge into structure and end up flowing well. I sometimes get this result listening to any music. I used to fear that music inspired by music would inspire too much parity, but it's really not like that at all. Inspiration leads to a bloodletting of personal emotions, so to speak, and things begin to seep out. I think you should just try to find some inspiration based on music and not seek to hone something immaculate from outside influence. Writers are always their own worst enemy and their own harshest critics. But writers are also their own biggest supporters. Get inspired, get something on paper, and let the music take care of the rest.