Songwriters On Songwriting: Fiona Apple

I wrote my first song when I was 14 years old. Over the years, I’ve composed hundreds of songs. It was that interest — music — that led me to take a year off from pursuing a doctorate and led me down the circuitous path that has been the rest of my life.

I don’t write songs nowadays, more focused on screenplays and writing about writing. But I can’t help but think at least some of who I am as a writer derives from all that time studying and composing songs.

Each day this week at this time, I will post insight from a songwriter about their craft in the hope their words may inspire you as a writer.

Today: Fiona Apple.

“I really, really enjoy fitting words together — but I only enjoy it when it’s easy, when it sort of rolls along by itself. I never erase anything [and] I hardly ever write anything down… The song will be finished before I write it down… I won’t write a song unless it serves me in some way, unless I feel I have to write the song to make myself feel better. If you’re not overflowing with something, there’s nothing to give.”

Two takeaways:

* “I never erase anything.” To me, this speaks to brainstorming. It’s a critical part of the writing process, one I feel many new or aspiring screenwriters could embrace more. When you give yourself over to a story, allowing yourself to wallow in that universe, that’s when you surface gold. Yes, much of what you discover, you won’t use. But you need to find that gold, and you can’t do that unless you sift through a lot of raw material. Do that, don’t erase anything, don’t pre-edit, open yourself to what you can find through brainstorming.

* “If you’re not overflowing with something, there’s nothing to give.” This speaks to a writer having an emotional resonance with stories they write. You need to feel something about the story. That is how you generate words that lift up off the page and translate into characters who come alive in the minds of readers.