How often are the stories of a comic, novel, play, TV series, movie, or song conceived by the writer's friend, relative, acquaintance, neighbor, mailman, dog, etc? [more inside]
posted by TheSecretDecoderRing on May 28, 2009 - 14 answers

Is the ability to write good lyrics to music something one can learn or pick up, or is it something you have to be born with? If it is the former, can you give me some tips, or at the very least direct me to some books or websites that might be of use? [more inside]
posted by Effigy2000 on Feb 28, 2008 - 17 answers

DissectingArtFilter: I'd like to start to understand how certain (in my eyes, fantastic) lyrics are devised. Specifically, Stephen Malkmus's lyrics, as a part of Pavement. For instance, Gold Soundz. I can pick out some slant rhymes, and certain other techniques but can't figure out how they work in the context of the entire piece. I know that melody plays a huge role in making the song what it is, but sort of focusing on the lyrics part - any words of wisdom. (and yes, I'm possibly writing lyrics for my band at some point)
posted by tmcw on Jun 10, 2007 - 5 answers

How does a musician learn to write better lyrics? [more inside]
posted by junkbox on May 19, 2006 - 17 answers