[Mr. Jelly]

Originally Posted by slewis

If anyone here can shed any light on something you've done to kick your creative process into a higher gear of efficiency and productivity, or even simple clarity and focus, in putting the creative pieces together and eliminating the unnecessary and extraneous, please share! I bet there's some good insight out there. THX.

The creative process isn't expedient and efficient. When you do that it kills the part of the process that is creative. It does favor the prepared though. To do that one must always be writing. Meaning thinking about it all the time. Carry a little note book. Think about music away from your instrument. And wait. I found that the best results came from pressure release from building up with all the thought and writing and trials and errors. At some point either because I though I'd just accomplished something or just relaxing or giving up. Bam! Things happened. But mostly the biggest trick is rewriting, rewriting and rewriting. There isn't a some created that couldn't benefit from a rewrite. When you can say I've written a perfect song and explain how and why it is perfect. Then you are at the starting point of being a writer. Good luck.