From Frustrated to Fired Up: The Mental Shift That Changed My Writing Forever

By Marty Dodson – SongTown Co-Founder

There was a time in my songwriting journey where I hit a wall.

I was showing up. I was writing. I was pitching. But nothing was happening. No one was cutting my songs. The feedback I was getting felt vague at best. And worst of all, I started losing the fire. I’d sit down to write and stare at a blank Word Doc thinking: “What’s the point? No one’s going to hear this anyway.” “How many more songs do I need to write before something finally clicks?” “Maybe I’m just not good enough.” And let me tell you—once those voices start, it’s easy to spiral.

But then something changed.

And it wasn’t anything external. It wasn’t a publishing deal or a big cut. It was a mental shift that changed everything about how I approached my writing. Here it is: I stopped writing to succeed, and I started writing to express. I concentrated more on what I wanted to put out into the world and less on what others might think of it. I began finding my voice. I stopped chasing results, and I started chasing truth. I looked for ideas and things to write about that I was passionate about and that rang true to me, believing that my truth was BOUND to resonate with others as well.

That one mindset shift pulled me out of frustration and lit the fire again.

I realized that somewhere along the way, I had become obsessed with the outcome: Is this commercial enough? Is this pitchable? Will someone cut it? And while those questions matter in the industry, they’re creativity killers if they’re your starting point. So I gave myself permission to write bad songs again. To chase ideas that mattered to me. To follow emotion instead of market trends. To write something real—even if it didn’t fit in a box. And guess what happened? The joy came back. The songs got better. And ironically, when I stopped trying to write a “hit,” I started writing songs that connected.

That’s the magic:

When you stop chasing approval and start writing from your heart, people feel that. You can’t fake real. And you shouldn’t try. If you’re an aspiring songwriter and you’re in that frustrated place right now, I get it. I’ve been there. But you don’t have to stay there.

Try this instead:

• Write the song you need to write, not the one you think someone else wants.
• Let go of “perfect” and chase “honest.”
• Remember why you started.
• And trust that your story, your voice, and your truth are enough.

That shift—from frustrated to fired up—won’t happen overnight. But it can start today. So write something messy. Write something fearless. Write something that is 100% YOU. Because that’s where the real magic is.

Write on,
Marty Dodson