Writing Quotes

When I was writing the song, I thought that these people have entire lives in there. They're not writers, but they all have stories to tell. Some are very, very down deeper than others.

On the best day, there's no context for the moment. Often, the best writing and pieces have been lost to not having been digitized.

I don't think I've ever actually written from inspiration, actually had a song just go, 'Bing!' I only recall that happening to me twice - once was with 'Terrapin' and the other was 'Wharf Rat.' I mean, that's twice in a lifetime of writing!

I started writing "Peace Trail" here in Colorado, then I went back to California. I had a few other tunes going around in my head, so I had a couple of them finished after a few days and then I wanted to go into the studio.

I'm better at writing' was just a way to get you biting. Oh the truth is that our egos are absurd.

I was just like, 'You know what? If I want to write about the culture war, I don't wanna be a pawn in it anymore.

And you find as a writer there are certain spots on the planet where you write better than others, and I believe in that. And New Orleans is one of them.

You know, as a writer, I'm more of a listener than a writer, cuz if I hear something I will write it down.

Instinct taught me 20 years ago to pace a song or a concert performance. That translates into pacing a story, pleasing a reading audience.

Songwriters write songs, but they really belong to the listener.

I've always been trying to write songs like Lightfoot. A song of mine like 'Come Monday' is a direct result of me trying to write a Gordon Lightfoot song.

Whether it's a letter, song lyrics, part of a novel, or instructions on how to fix a kitchen sink, it's writing. You keep your craft honed, you acquire the discipline to finish things. You turn into a self-taskmaster.

[Writing] is edit, edit, edit. It's almost like getting a boat ready to go to sea. You've still got a countless number of things left to fix, but you've just got to go, "O.K., everybody get on the boat. We're going, ready or not."

I seem to write a lot of sad songs because I'm a very tragic person. But there's always an element of humour at the end.

We Are The Champions' is the most egotistical and arrogant song I've ever written. I was thinking about football when I wrote it.

I wanted a participation song, something the fans could latch on to. It was aimed at the masses. I wanted to write something that everyone could sing along to, like a football chant. And at the same time, I thought it would be nice to have a winning song that's meant for everybody. It worked a treat.

A lot of my songs are fantasy. I can dream up all kinds of things. That's the kind of world I live in. It's very sort of flamboyant, and that's the kind of way I write. I love it.

At art school, a teacher said: 'The best paintings are when you get lost in a piece of work and start painting in a stream of consciousness.' I wanted to do music, not art, so started writing lyrics that way. The first song I wrote was called 'Ice Cream and Wafers.' The next was 'Holding Back the Years.'

We strolled quietly along the edge of the lake. The water sang its soft melody against the rocks.

When I left Flyleaf I really wanted to stay connected with the fans and so I continued to answer emails and tried to write some blogs and stay connected that way and my husband could tell that I was just super heavy about the fans and just being able to reach out to them so he suggested that I write a book.