I try to be open to ideas whenever they present themselves… I scribble things down when just waking up or while walking down the street.  I always have a pen; usually paper, though sometimes the back of a receipt has to do.  So that’s one sort of habit – paying attention when an idea presents itself.

But for those ideas to become complete songs, they have to be developed.  And that takes time.

Which brings me to the other kind of habit – having regular writing time – to come up with ideas, to develop ideas into complete songs… and to give the songwriting subconscious a focal point.

To make that happen, what I find most helpful – and what I’ve seen be helpful to other writers – is what I think of as a Container… that is, something to fill – meaning a time and place when I know I’ll be writing.

For me it has to do with having a writing schedule and plan that’s somewhat regular.  I know that, at certain times, it’s what I’ll be doing.

This creates a focal point for my subconscious mind.  Somewhere inside, I know that what’s going on in my creative subconscious can work itself out at noon on Saturdays and Sundays, or at whatever time(s) I’ve set aside.

And the more I get used to having that time, the more my mind, subconscious and otherwise, adapts to it, uses it, and creates material for it.

The Container helps make a kind of habit of creation.  For me, that really seems to help.