A trip with no destination may be fun at first, but it will soon become extremely confusing and boring. No matter how beautiful or new the automobile, driving for the sake of driving soon gets very old. The Idea and its Hook are the destination of our song. Unless we have these clearly in mind, we will be on a road trip with no arrival that will confuse and bore our listeners. The single greatest weakness that I encounter in consulting with aspiring songwriters and critiquing their songs is lack of focus .
Most writers have absolutely no idea where their song is headed when they begin to write.
As they write, the song just evolves in proportion to their often very limited musical and lyrical vocabulary. Once we know where we are heading, we need to plan the route to the payoff. Write down anything that comes to mind that even remotely relates to that thought or concept. Devote at least an entire work period or more to the collection of these materials. BUT, a flow that is focused on the core Idea.