How to Write One Song is an interesting and philosophical look at song writing, creativity, and the creative process by Jeff Tweedy. Released 13th Oct 2020 by Penguin Random House on their Dutton imprint, it's 176 pages and available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.
This is a very quick and engaging read. Although written around the premise that anyone can write a song, it has lots of takeaways and encouragement for anyone engaged in any creative pursuit. Some of the information is logical and obvious (to be a success at *anything* one must have a good work ethic and actually *do* whatever it is) and some is less so (struggle is not synonymous with genius and writing doesn't *have* to be a struggle).
The author has a lot of good points and writes surprisingly well and succinctly. Writing about creative process usually has very limited relevance to others - "here's what works for me, take it or leave it" - but he manages to write generally and intelligently on the general ideas and concepts involved. I found a fair bit of information applicable to my own life situation; definitely well worth the price of the book.
Five stars. One of the better books I've seen about the creative process. I did not, however, write a song.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes
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