Ya'all listen to Mr. Barnett. The man is a credit to all of us compulsively creative folks. Co-write. Do it.

My latest book Makin' Stuff Up (secrets of song-craft and survival in the music biz) is actually a virtual co-writing experience with yours truly (war stories included). And, the reader doesn't even have to smell my breath. Available on Amazon.com and my website (www.makinstuffup.net).

Co-writing is critical for a whole slough o' reasons.

Here are three - first, it can be a heck of a lot more fun (assuming you like the person you're sharing air with); second, it increases your network (your co-writer and his team know peeps you don't know and versa visa); third, if two good writers agree that a line or a hook or a melody works, the idea is far more likely to be universally embraced.

If co-writers are lazy, however, collaboration can result in mediocre cliche pap. We all need to discipline ourselves to write with collaborators with whom we have chemistry and who dare us to be the greatest writers we can be.

And, you should never stop writing on your own, no matter how lonely or futile it might seem. That's how you keep that connection with your own personal muse alive and kickin'!

RB

Rand Bishop
Songwriter/producer/author