My friend and I were sitting in a café, enjoying our hot beverages and chatting eagerly. I was saying how remarkable it was that even though my life was filled with pain and illness, I was still able to write books and do music stuff. “It is so strange,” I commented. “Even in the middle […]
Songwriting
Skills and issues in writing contemporary Christian music
A House with Many Rooms
I recently moved from a two-bedroom unit to a four-bedroom house. Ok, it is really five bedrooms, if you count the media room. It felt slightly strange to move to such a large house. There are only two of us, you see. And the cat. We are a small family, no children, no plans to […]
I Work Full-Time (But Don’t Get Paid For All Of It)
A friend asked me this morning what I planned to do with the rest of today. “I’ll be working from home,” was my reply. Immediately she asked how I had managed to arrange that in my line of work (counselling). “No,” I clarified, “Today is my other job. The one for which I do not […]
Healthy Comparison?
I hardly ever get jealous of other people. Except for one time. Real bad. A few years ago, I was working on a musical project with a bunch of other musicians. One musician in particular was doing very well in this project. She was a talented musician whom I admired. She was popular with everyone. […]
The Piano Man
I have always been allergic to musical instruments. As a teenager, I was an enthusiastic singer, but I could not bear to touch an instrument, let alone attempt to play one. I avoided instruments like the plague. The reason for this was my lack of coordination. I was accident-prone. I was constantly walking into things, […]
Lamentations Song – 1000 Views Special
No-one was more surprised than I was to see Lamentations Song pass 1000 views on YouTube this week. In honour of this momentous occasion, I feel it is time to review this song again. (I have already blogged about it before, but why not blog about it again?) There are certain unwritten rules when it […]
The Outsiders (A Writers Conference Review)
I went to a gathering of outsiders last week. Ok, technically it was a writers conference. But it was essentially a place for misfits and melodramatics to meet and learn and muse. It was a great conference. I made new friends and caught up with old ones. We sang songs to God together. We prayed […]
Breadcrumbs
From time to time, I get asked about writing and songwriting. People want to know how I keep coming up with ideas for blogs, songs and books in a series. Sometimes I wonder where all the ideas come from and if I will ever run out. Every writer is different. They may source their inspiration […]
Start Again
Like so many of my songs, “Start Again” began with an honest moment of prayer. I had been repenting of some hidden sins suddenly thrust into the light, when the words seemed to form musical phrases in my mind. Before I knew it, I was writing down this song. There are many songs out there […]
Good Enough
This is not a self-esteem blog. This is not about flattery or inflating your ego. This is not even about you. It’s about your creative work. Most artists are perfectionists. They develop and hone their art. They practice it over and over, trying to get it right. Even when it is perfect, they are often […]