Recently, I gave advice to someone who has been writing songs for years, but who has never been able to “make a record.” 

Mr. Lennon was asked once to give advice to aspiring songwriters.  His #1 piece of advice?  “Finish everything. Don’t dwell on things.” 

Go through your list of songs, and be brutal. Set aside anything that’s lost its magic for you. You’ll find some songs which had great potential, which you sadly have overworked while you learned to produce/record/mix. They’ve served you well, but they’re never going to be finished. So let them be.

A friend urged me to do that once, and spun it so nicely. “That stuff will be in your early years box set, “he said, “when you’re a star and have finished your 10th major release.”

Chin up though: whatever you set aside was not wasted work. It’s helped you to learn how to write and engineer, entertained you, and inspired you to keep writing… Remember, you can’t waste time writing. Whatever you create, good or bad, is all part of the process.

-G