Object Writing: Songwriting Exercise
An object writing exercise is one of the easiest ways to keep song ideas flowing and find new ideas. Inspiration is sometimes a hard thing to come by. This writing exercise will help move things along, by challenging you from a few unconventional sources – a dictionary and photos (not yours).
Dictionary Exercise
- STEP 1 – Pick up a dictionary or thesaurus (or head online). Randomly choose a word, or a few words, and an image from your photos or off Google images.
- STEP 2 – What do they mean for you? Do they remind you of something, someone, a memory?
- STEP 3 – Start writing whatever comes into your head, and don’t think about what you’re trying to say – just write for 15 minutes. Stop.
- STEP 4 – What’s on the page? Read through it and underline anything that makes you think “hmmm, that’s interesting” or “that sounds different”.
Object Writing Exercise with Photos
STEP 1 – pull some random photos from the internet that appeal to you. Don’t use your photos (that’s too easy). Just find pictures you that stop you as you visually scroll through them. You can use a keyword search on Google images, or pic a social network and start doom scrolling. But – no video. Stills only. (Video is distracting, and you may never find your way back to the object writing exercise!)
STEP 2 – Same steps as above.
TIP
I keep a list of words handy that just sound interesting, then rummage through them from time to time.
Object Writing Prompts
| OBJECTS | WORDS |
| Quill | Salsa |
| Neck Tie | Cracking |
| Apple | Remembrance |
| Pencil | Malaise |
| Button | Flatter |
| Thumb Tack | Transcend |
| Umbrella | Cinnamon |
| Motorcycle | Sassafras |
| Ice Cream Cone | Barnacle |
| Faucet | Generate |