What's It All About?
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What's It All About?

Barbra is an actress who sings…that’s how she thinks of herself…she has to understand the lyrics in order to know what she’s supposed to be feeling.

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Rest Peacefully, Tommy Page
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Rest Peacefully, Tommy Page

He was like that little boy from “The Alchemist”—the one who had a vision he believed in so strongly it caused the Universe to jump into the current and conspire with him to make it all happen.

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Kings & Queens of Nashville
blog Shelly Peiken blog Shelly Peiken

Kings & Queens of Nashville

Four hours later my session is a total bust. Three ideas and we couldn’t get hard. We parted without any eargasm to speak of. Even well seasoned writers come up empty sometimes. They might not tell you that but I will. 

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Greetings From Nashville
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Greetings From Nashville

"Concept is everything…some writers write themselves into a circle and wait for the main idea. Sometimes they get lucky. But if you have the concept right from the start the songs write themselves.”

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Bon Voyage
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Bon Voyage

I hadn’t gone on an international writing trip in a long time. Motherhood had kept me close to home by choice. When my daughter was out of elementary school you’d think I would have jumped at the chance. Au contraire…even more reason to stay close. Teenagers are volatile. 

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Jaded
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Jaded

I didn't want to go to that session. Serial-blind-song-dating is not what it used to be. Sometimes I feel like just another mouse in a maze.... 

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Doubling Up
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Doubling Up

Last summer I went to London on a writing trip. I was scheduled to work with an Aspiring Artist, (AA)  and a Hot Young Programmer, (HYP). I was sent a link in advance to a couple of AA’s  videos but she had me at hello. I didn't even get completely passed the first one. She was special. I was in. 

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Confessions.