Wit and wisdom from songwriting experts

Bat McGrath

• Passion will keep you in the business when success doesn't.

• Be tough but not stupid. You're going to get hurt feelings, but always leave the door open.

• No one can tell you what to write. If you write what other people are looking for, you lose what you do.

• You've got to be honest. You've got to write the truth. But there's a fine line there. You don't need to get drunk to write a song about a hangover.

• If you can speak, you can write. But sometimes you can write better than you speak.

• A great song has a great opening line. It has to make you wonder where it's going.

• It's silly to ignore the rules, but you don't always have to keep them.

• Practice. Take lessons. Don't let the hands hold back the brain.

Rachel Thibodeau

• Songwriting can be like therapy; it can get you through everything.

• Never take any contact or any small event for granted; you never know where it will lead you.

• Write your story in ways others can relate to it; you don't have to tell everything.

• Get feedback from the people who know you best; they will know if it's real.

• If songwriting is in you, it will have to come out — even if you don't make a living at it.

Pat Alger

• Naivete is a good thing; keep it as long as you can.

• Train your subconscious to think about songs as part of everyday life, even about standing in line at a bank.

• Don't go into a song thinking you will change the world; go in thinking you're going to write a song.

• Try to leave people with a feeling of "Yes, I was there, too."

• Don't be too clever. Clever often happens when you're trying to rhyme. But there's no underlying truth. You have to have the truth.

• The best songs have a beginning, a middle and some kind of resolution that make you want to sing the chorus again and feel good about it.

• Luck happens when you have something to be lucky with.