Writing a Song

I admire people that can sit down and write a song. It is a skill i am working on. I have not been gifted with English. I have degrees in Math and Computer Science because i could not pass college level English courses. I have a good vocabulary and i express myself well. Just please so not look at my punctuation and spelling.

I don't have any formal training in song writing. I have worked with writers that have. And everyone has their style and routine. For me i start with the lyrics. What is my hook or my message for the song. There are song patterns that are commercially successful so i try to stay within those patterns. Let's face it, it's hard to get a new "Free Bird" on the modern radio play rotation. As an indie artist/writer I do have total freedom. But as a the financier, I would like to not loose much money. So, I work in "best practices" formulas.

Here are my guidelines: about 3 minutes, 4 bar intro, Intro/Verse/Chorus/Verse/Chorus/Bridge/Chorus/Outro, Good hook, Something I would listen to, Something I would defend every word of.