Working Up My Chops

Planning my April writing trip to Nashville. Driving down after church on Easter.

This trip will be great. I’m looking forward to writing with some of my Nashville friends, and this time I’m getting a little help setting up some appointments, as well. I’m excited to work with some new folks, and I’m scurrying to get my ideas organized and quivered up.

My mantra when going into a new cowrite is to always have more to offer than is needed, and one of the most sought after resources in a cowrite, especially a new one, is ideas. WIthout a good idea, all the craft in the world can not render something worth the time. I’ve been storing up my thoughts and ideas and hooks for the past few months, and adding them to the ones I’ve had for awhile. Its always a fun time to go back and revisit some that have fallen out of my memory.

I’m looking forward to getting with some of the writers from the Write About Jesus conference in St. Louis. I don’t know who will be in town the week I’m down, but I’m sure it will be a blessing, no matter who they are.

Another new thing, this time, is that I may play out a bit. I’m not too used to playing out, I prefer to let someone else do that, but a writer’s round is a great place to test songs, and I’ve found that at writer’s rounds you find a lot of... writers..

Pulling some songs out of the sawdust, though, and trying to remember how some of them go. Wow. Its tougher than I thought it would be.

All in all, though, it feels good. I’m looking forward to floating them out there. No better way to get a feel for whether they work or not. No better way to improve the chops than by swinging the axe. (I’m a keyboard player, but I love using the analogy, anyways!)