The writing prompts below are specifically designed for songwriters and lyricists who’d prefer not to just sit around “waiting for inspiration”.
I think we all know “waiting for inspiration” actually involves a lazy muse slouching in a beanbag chair in front of the TV, checking her Facebook every 30 seconds while a guitar rots in the closet and her notebook sits empty.
The lyric writing exercises listed below don’t tell you what to write about; instead they’re carefully designed to draw out your own own unique ideas.
Core Songwriting Prompts
Free Writing–The most basic and fundamental creative writing exercise. Free writing is a fast-paced exercise, great for overcoming perfectionism and warming up before writing sessions. Essentially it’s a timed stream-of-consciousness outpouring designed to bypass your inner critic.
Songwriting Prompt: A Moment in Time—This one’s perfect for singer-songwriters who write their own lyrics and compose their own music.
Find the Kink in Your Song Hose, Part 1: Check Your Idea Spigot— Want to ensure a steady, sustainable stream of new lyric ideas? Go to the source with these 11 tips.
How to Write Lyrics for an Instrumental Track—Got a piece of music that you need to write lyrics for? No problem.
Lyric Writing Exercises: a 5-Day Workshop—Guest post by Maria Rainier. Much to my consternation, Maria’s prompts have been far more popular than any of my own. 
Great job, Maria.
Shake a Tail Feather: How to Use Body Language in a Lyric—As writers, we hear this advice often: “Show, don’t tell. Show, don’t tell. Show, don’t tell.” But what about those times when we want to show what’s going on inside of a character’s head and let the audience know how that character is feeling?
The Hangman’s Book of Love Poetry—Write a song about a villain with redeeming qualities in this lyric writing prompt.
