When writing a Verse/Chorus song, say I’ve got the Title and Chorus.  When it comes to writing the Verses, it’s easy to encounter ‘facing-the-blank-page syndrome’…  Where to start; then where to go?  How to explore the idea and fill out the Verses?  What would be effective and truthful?

To me, the first answer here (and the first mistake I make is ignoring it) is to look to the Title/Chorus itself as a North Star to guide me.  Structurally, the Verses’ primary function is to set up that Title and Chorus.

So… what’s the most effective/powerful/interesting/resonant/unusual (you pick) way I can get to that destination?

Keeping the Title and Chorus in mind often gets me or keeps me on track.  It’s amazing how easily a song can just ‘wander off’… into general emotions and predictable images that relate to the Title in a vague way… but don’t really set it up in a committed manner.

I have to remember that this is this song, specifically.  It’s not just a grab bag for anything seemingly related that crosses my mind.  I have to make decisions, sometimes not obvious ones, about what this particular song is and isn’t.  And the Title/Chorus is usually the embodiment, the fulcrum, of the main idea of the song.  Everything in the song needs to point towards it or reflect it n some way.

Narrowing my focus, using the Title and making the What To Leave In/What To Take Out decisions described above, makes it easier to complete the song. That can feel counter-intuitive (aren’t more choices better?), but I find it’s usually true.  Knowing what a song isn’t about and what doesn’t belong in it is often as important as knowing what it is about.

Highly specific detail, surprising characters and stories, action-filled verbs, visual and tactile images (helping the listener see and feel)…  All of these are essential parts of building the situation or story.  But they don’t answer the question: What is the situation or story?

That’s where turning to the Title can be so useful.  Let it lead your imagination to the rest of the lyric.