How to write a captivating short story
By Barry DeVorzon Follow these steps to hone your skills and write short stories like Raymond Carver. Whether a successful published novelist or a creative writing student, all writers should try their hand at short stories at least a few times in their lives. Writing a successful short story – which I’ll define as executing […]
12 key steps for getting unstuck as a writer
By Barry DeVorzon Trapped in the middle of your manuscript? Here’s how to move forward. You started your manuscript with such enthusiasm. You wrote 20 pages in ONE NIGHT. Your brain was popping with ideas. Scenes flowed. You were sure you’d be done with the whole thing in a month. And then, one quiet morning, […]
Cut the Fat: Make your writing lean and clean – Top tips for trimming flabby prose.
By Barry DeVorzon No, this article is not a check on the progress of your New Year’s resolution. It’s a reminder that our writing, too, can get a little…paunchy. English lends itself to wordiness. And as word lovers, we are often tempted to trot out our favorite vocabulary and loath to let any of it […]
Six steps to increase your writing productivity every day
By Barry DeVorzon Do you find yourself staring at a blank page despite trying many different tactics to be more productive? Then it may be time to try something new. Here are six tips and tricks that will help you get more done. To write well, you must write. Which is advice that sounds easy […]
What’s more important, the melody or the lyric?
By Barry DeVorzon Some people think melody rules and others think it’s the lyrics and there are strong arguments that support both beliefs. I’ve been a songwriter all of my life and I am privileged to have been able to do what I love most and to be successful at it. I would have to […]
Learning How to Write Songs
By Barry DeVorzon Learning how to write songs is not unlike learning how to play an instrument. The difference is, you have a teacher when you’re learning to play an instrument and you don’t have one when you’re learning to write songs. Almost anyone can learn to play an instrument, but not everyone can learn […]
The Ten Commandments of Songwriting
testing the custom exceprt
Can a melody created by artificial intelligence be copyrighted?
By Barry DeVorzon Damien Riehl and his partner Noah Rubin seem to think so. Damien Riehl is an attorney and self-described musician/songwriter and Noah Rubin is a programmer and self-described musician/songwriter. They created a program and an algorithm that they claim has written every melody possible. They further claim that since they put this vast […]
