THE FIRST THING I DO: I ALWAYS HANDWRITE IF AT
This is where I write without fear.
ALL POSSIBLE.
without worrying about formatting contains
something essential and intangible: a roadmap
Creation should be beautiful and messy. No It’s the part of the song I can write in about 5 more attempting to write lyrics on my laptop minutes, and it shares a property line with the because it looks cleaner, or on my phone left side, where I ultimately seek to edit without It’s hard to describe, but somewhere – in the
because it’s more convenient. Technology mercy – distilling and curating the ideas of the mess of it all – is me. I can glance at the right
is great in a bind, but you’ll never have the right side into a crafted set of lyrics. And that side of that page and remember a sense of how
connection to it that you do to ink that you left side is always up for revision as well, of I felt when I began to imagine the song. Weeks
physically dragged across a page. There’s course, but there’s a real sense of earning a may go by without any “official” lyrics being
texture to feel and paper to smell. The digital lyric when I drag a word or phrase across that written, but if I’ve done the work to capture the
world is generic and sterile by design, but line, and it takes on the poetic form of the song. spark at its moment of inception, I have a far
your own handwriting is a very personal thing. Many ideas don’t make it that far, and stay in greater chance of finding my way back into the
On any given day, subtle variations even in limbo on the right side forever. But the thing is, headspace I was hoping to create from.
your penmanship can help to trigger the I know why they’re there. I know why I crossed very connection that is so easy to lose on a them out or put a question mark by them. The It strikes me that our best songs aren’t just
digital screen. process of elimination is preserved beside the made of what they contain, but what they
back to the spark.
work as it takes shape. And I think that is so don’t. They’re forged in the fires of our creative
THE SECOND THING I DO: I DIVIDE MY PAGE IN TWO important – to know not only where I’ve arrived, processes. The parts we hold onto and
WITH A LINE RUNNING TOP TO BOTTOM. but how I got there, and what I ruled out along ultimately hear fought to get there, but they
This can sound silly, but it’s been very helpful the way. It actually saves me from having the remain supported by all the discarded parts.
to me. You see, on the right side of that line same conversation with myself multiple times The ideas that, like dark matter, occupy negative
is a place that is completely safe. It’s safe for as I consider alternatives. space, and bring context to everything.
(potentially bad) ideas, stream-of-consciousness
babble, isolated words and phrases, barrages of I know when I’ve tried something, and it
imagery, potential metaphors, personal feelings didn’t work. I know when I thought something
or reminders of what I was thinking when a song wouldn’t work, but I ended up needing it after
began to take shape, relevant dates, histories, all. Either way, it was captured there. Without
doodles, etc… It’s all safe there. And there’s fear.
no need to observe any format or maintain any
standard in that space.
Best of all, the space I preserve to rapidly scrawl
March 2019
Kevin MacDougall
A published and recorded songwriter, musician,
worship leader, and podcast producer.
[email protected]
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