JPF Home Page Forums Hangin' with Harriet

How very true, Harriet and what a great thread. (great idea, Heidi)

I know I have a lot of growing to do and many times I don't see the whole picture when I comment....only in part. So in part, I offer up what I see. A good idea before someone changes something in his/her song is to take 3 steps back... and always keep that original, along with the suggestions. You may see something years' later and the bells will chime... DING!!!!

I grew up on this board, song-writing wise,...and I'm thankful that I didn't get my toughest comments in those first few months of songwriting. However, a combination of the toughest comments along with the encouragement has helped me the most.

A strong critique from our peers is helpful...but there are definitely some nice ways to deliver it. Finding one thing nice to say right off the top... can make a world of difference especially to a beginning writer or one who really is struggling with growing thicker skin. If the only nice thing someone can say is..a 'sincere'... Welcome, or...It's nice to see you writing...or...That's a difficult subject to write about...It's great to see you tackling it...., that's still better than putting a new writer on the defensive immediately or crushing his spirit. Meeting someone for the first time and having him/her say... "you call yourself a writer?"...or..."find another profession"...can be unsettling regardless of your thicker skin depth.... I think it's helpful to try to keep the negative comments directed to the lyric or melody and try to reserve the "you" word for the positive.

We need someone to thump us on the head....if we have it in there...that "we're there" and we can't improve.

best wishes,
Kaley