Mostly, in song writing, my experience is that there isn't so much inspiration as hard work. You sit there for hours, days and weeks with a guitar and piano until something good comes. But the urge to write is something you have to have. A conviction, an ambition to write and never stop until you think, 'This is the best I can do.'
Bjorn Ulvaeus
Related Well mostly in song writing my experience is that there isn't so much inspiration as hard work. ... BJORN ULVAEUS I tend to write on an acoustic guitar or the piano. I have kind of a rule: if I can't sit down a... TOM PETTY There's nothing romantic about my work... I don't believe in inspiration. I believe that you... IRVING STONE Sometimes you're gonna write a song and it's not gonna be right from the beginning. And you&... BENNY BLANCO Something comes along and you have to jump on and do it. You can't stop until it's done. NEIL YOUNG I procrastinate in spades. In my defence, I also try to have all other distractions solved before I ... MARKUS ZUSAK You're always going to write and draw inspiration from things that you're feeling, things th... HARRY STYLES I go through periods of not writing. Until there's something I can't find in the world that ... DAPHNE GOTTLIEB When I sit at my table to write, I never know what it's going to be until I'm under way. I t... ALBERTO MORAVIA Falling in love is awesome, but I'm never drawn to happy songs per se, so whenever you sit down ... MIRANDA LAMBERT When you're writing non-fiction, you go as far as you can go, and then ethically you have to sto... GERALDINE BROOKS Writing is total grunt work. A lot of people think it's all about sitting and waiting for the mu... JODI PICOULT You can tell if there's magic in something. When you start it, you want to finish it and you wan... HALSEY If you work hard at anything, you're going to experience some success. And the greatest gift is ... ROBERT KENNEDY, JR. Never think you can't do something. I definitely never thought I could write a book, and even af... CONNOR FRANTA I remember writing lyrics for 'Take Me to Church' for a long time before I even had a song i... HOZIER 'Something/Anything?' was kind of a different record, since I'm playing everything mysel... TODD RUNDGREN I started writing when I started acting professionally because, with acting, there's so much tim... FINN WITTROCK A lot of people who don't write for kids think it's easy, because they think kids aren't... BRIAN SELZNICK But the reality is when you write a song, you should be able to strip away all the instruments and j... DWEEZIL ZAPPA I never write a book unless I can't help it. Something has to bother me, like a mosquito, until ... GREGORY MAGUIRE I still have a feeling that I haven't written the best that I can write. I think all poets must ... CAROL ANN DUFFY If I sit down with an electric guitar, what's going to come out are Sabbath/Zeppelin type riffs,... ZAKK WYLDE Because I'm an art historian, I have some experience of writing that comes out of close attentio... TEJU COLE Writing is such a weird emotional thing. It's hard. If you sit down with a plan to write somethi... LAUREN MILLER I have to write what I can write, and writing the text of a picture book is like walking a tightrope... PATRICIA MACLACHLAN Write for yourself, not for a perceived audience. If you do, you'll mostly fall flat on your fac... WILBUR SMITH Be original. That's my best advice. You're going to find that there's something that you... BOB SEGER There's always been in my life that tension between living and writing. For me, because I'm ... PETER HELLER Writing is very good for household tasks. Because you'd rather fix a dripping tap or paint an ol... DAMON GALGUT For me, when I'm writing something really personal, I don't feel good about it. It's wei... SAMPHA I think the quality of sexiness comes from within. It is something that is in you or it isn't an... SOPHIA LOREN I think its so cool that you can pick up the guitar and create something that didn't exist 5 min... MICHELLE BRANCH I pick up my guitar and play. Something might come, and then the pen comes out. Then an edit, until ... GLEN HANSARD I never even held a guitar until I was 23 and living in California, but then loved it. I'm reall... J. D. SOUTHER Write every day. Don't kill yourself. I think a lot of people think, 'I have to write a chap... CASSANDRA CLARE Writing itself is a dream. There are days of self doubt and deadlines and wondering how you're g... GRAHAM BROWN I believe that I improve with every book I write - most writers will probably tell you the same thin... DAVID B. COE I think there's a lot of learning process in figuring out what things you want to do and shouldn... MATT HARVEY Darling, You asked me to write you a letter, so I am writing you a letter. I do not know why I ... JONATHAN SAFRAN FOER There's an element to songwriting that I can't explain, that comes from somewhere else. I ca... NICK CAVE You have to live in order to have something to write about - you get caught up in moviemaking and ce... JOHN PATRICK SHANLEY To write a love song that might be able to make it on the radio, that is something that is terrifyin... BARRY MANILOW Ultimately, the first, best step in getting your work noticed is to write good work. If people don... JOHN SCALZI With writing, I need a lot of time to sit around and do nothing. But now that I have kids, I just do... SOFIA COPPOLA On YouTube, when you have a big viral success with a song that isn't your own, the natural incli... CHARLIE PUTH Like, when I write a song, the song comes first before production. Everything is written on an acous... TAYLOR MOMSEN I'm very much a believer in the character always heading for something or after something. But t... MONICA DOLAN When you're writing for a sequel and there's a movie that's been deemed sacred ground by... TROY DUFFY The fun thing about song writing is that it's just creative. It can be whatever you want it to b... KELSEA BALLERINI A story in your head isn't a story. It's just a daydream until you actually write it down. S... ANDY WEIR If I try to write a song, I will completely fail to write a song. But if I'm just holding my gui... KINA GRANNIS In our culture, I think that there is no markers anymore. Young men don't really have something ... ANTOINE FUQUA I think if you're writing from the heart, very often, the subject matter will adjust as you age.... GERRY BECKLEY I pretty much drink a cup of coffee, write in my journal for a while, and then sit at a computer in ... JESS WALTER I am so happy that I didn't go to school and I didn't have anyone to tell me how to position... YANNI I am not a person who can really sit around and think about regrets because with every bad experienc... WINONA RYDER If you really want to write, then shut yourself in a room, close the door, and WRITE. If you don'... MARY GARDEN It's one of the hardest things in the world to sustain a monogamous relationship for many years.... JOHN NIVEN What is a struggle is that acting isn't a place where you go to work and you do that thing. Ther... ADAM DRIVER So, when it comes to eating healthy, it's just doing the right thing. And it's not something... MIKE DITKA The beauty of voice-over work is that maybe you come in and record once every two weeks for a couple... EMMANUELLE CHRIQUI I feel like there's already a written narrative going on everywhere. All the different situation... BILL CALLAHAN I think, with age, you learn that it comes in bursts and you've got no control over it. I'm ... PAUL WELLER There's always a part of my brain saying: 'Stop getting comfortable. Don't relax.' B... TOM ODELL I think there's something in the fact that it's hard to be good looking and funny. You have ... CHRIS O'DOWD I can't say that I'm always writing in my head but I do spend a lot of time in my head writi... STEVIE WONDER Are you taking us to the beach?" - Dan Cahill JUDE WATSON I think we have a creative impulse where suffering can magnify our work, but so can joy. You can be ... PATTI SMITH For me it always comes down to what is a good song and I'm very old fashioned in the way that I ... MARC ALMOND It throws you out. I'm left-handed. It's like writing with my right hand. What you write is going to... DARDEN SMITH You know that I write slowly. This is chiefly because I am never satisfied until I have said as much... CARL FRIEDRICH GAUSS As I get older, my body isn't bulletproof, and it's starting to break down. And I'm stil... JASON DAY I'm not a writer. I think I can write short stories and poetry, but film writing, brilliant film... SAMANTHA MORTON You don't write because you want to say something, you write because you have something to say. F. SCOTT FITZGERALD I'm a singer and working on my second album. I write and produce. There is so much more that sat... CARICE VAN HOUTEN I was struggling with anorexia, and one of the biggest problems with an eating disorder is you don... LINDSEY STIRLING Sporadic thoughts will pop into my head and I'll have to go write something down, and the next t... EMINEM There would be times when I got so much work that I didn't have time to write. School interfered... AMITY GAIGE I think the best way to find out about something is to try to do it to the max. A lot of people take... BRUCE DICKINSON It's one thing if you write a song and somebody else sings it because you give the OK. But if yo... BEBE REXHA When you do a writing job for a studio, one of the things you want to do is satisfy the expectations... JOEL COEN It's so easy for me to do a boy-bashing pop song, but to sit down and write honestly about somet... AVRIL LAVIGNE It doesn't matter how much polite self-deprecating fluff you have on the outside if you don'... REBECCA HALL There's a certain amount of freedom involved in cycling: you're self-propelled and decide ex... DAVID BYRNE Simply, if you're working with good material, then it's right there, and you don't have ... DULE HILL The best way to do that is to pick up a new instrument or an instrument that you don't typically... SERJ TANKIAN I love to write a book out of questions; in fact, I think it's the only way my writing can opera... KATE GRENVILLE As an actor, there is room for a certain amount of creativity, but you're always ultimately goin... DANIEL RADCLIFFE I like to open for a band as it brings on sort of a challenge and it makes things more interesting. ... KELLY JONES I feel like writing a book there's always a version in your head that's an amazing version, ... KAREN THOMPSON WALKER It didn't rain today, so I didn't have to work. Why don't you have to sit around and wai... LINDA FIORENTINO You sometimes get the feeling that people think getting back together after a hiatus to write and re... CHRIS CORNELL If you look at 'The Have and the Have Nots,' I didn't want to write a show where everyon... TYLER PERRY I remember that when I got to NYU, everyone was writing scripts. But I was 18 at the time, and when ... TODD PHILLIPS If you really think you have something good, you can't take no for an answer. You've got to ... BILLY EICHNER There's so much bullying with young people and them feeling like they can't come out, and th... TABATHA COFFEY I sit down to write a song and it's just me just trying to be as honest as I can for myself and to s... TRENT REZNOR I don't know if there is any one secret to successful writing, but one important step is to move... JAMES E. GUNN Anybody who likes writing a book is an idiot. Because it's impossible; it's like having a ho... LEWIS BLACK
More Bjorn Ulvaeus
Every time I sit in the audience and watch a show that I have been involved with, it is such an amaz... BJORN ULVAEUS Stockholm is unique in that it's built on islands and surrounded by water, so you get this enorm... BJORN ULVAEUS The UN declaration on human rights must always be first in line before religion or other cultural ha... BJORN ULVAEUS The story of Jesus is very fascinating. It still has such a tremendous power, even after 2,000 years... BJORN ULVAEUS Some values must be universal, like human rights and the equal worth of every human being. BJORN ULVAEUS I'm so incredibly tired of giving respect to a lot of delusions and crazy ideas just because they ar... BJORN ULVAEUS I believe that religious faith schools are highly dubious. BJORN ULVAEUS I believe that religion should be totally separated from the state. That's not the way it is today, ... BJORN ULVAEUS Cultural variety is always worth striving for, but must never precede the declaration of human right... BJORN ULVAEUS And also a lot of Muslims are no more religious then the average Swede. For them it's natural that h... BJORN ULVAEUS If that doomsday scenario happens, will it help if you have heaps of paper money? I don't think ... BJORN ULVAEUS I'm so incredibly tired of giving respect to a lot of delusions and crazy ideas just because the... BJORN ULVAEUS Sweden is an open, liberal, secular and democratic country. We strive towards achieving equality; we... BJORN ULVAEUS Everyone should pursue whatever is original in oneself. That's the way for a long life in music. BJORN ULVAEUS The music of ABBA is not that happy. It might sound happy, in some strange way, but deep within, it&... BJORN ULVAEUS There are days when I walk through the center of Stockholm when I get this sudden feeling of happine... BJORN ULVAEUS I hear a really good pop song every now and then. 'ROAR' by Katy Perry, I love that! 'Po... BJORN ULVAEUS Well mostly in song writing my experience is that there isn't so much inspiration as hard work. ... BJORN ULVAEUS There is a very vibrant cultural scene in Stockholm. There are lots of places where there are concer... BJORN ULVAEUS Wild horses couldn't drag me away from a summer on the Stockholm archipelago. BJORN ULVAEUS And also a lot of Muslims are no more religious then the average Swede. For them it's natural th... BJORN ULVAEUS Religion is the root of so much misery in the world, and I've always thought there is lack of cr... BJORN ULVAEUS Of course, we wore silly outfits, the pictures were corny, and some people still focus on that. But ... BJORN ULVAEUS In my career the push has always been to take another step, to try something new. BJORN ULVAEUS I believe that religion should be totally separated from the state. That's not the way it is tod... BJORN ULVAEUS In the beginning of my career, I wanted to be chased by girls more than anything - that's why I ... BJORN ULVAEUS There are still many places I haven't seen that I'd like to travel to. I've never seen t... BJORN ULVAEUS In a way, I'm kind of a bystander looking at this phenomenon that is ABBA, which is still around... BJORN ULVAEUS Critics used to say that ABBA were formulaic or that our songs were rubbish. We never had time for t... BJORN ULVAEUS I want people to remember ABBA as we were. I don't think that four geriatrics wheeled on stage i... BJORN ULVAEUS All these years later, I have almost no memory of the shows themselves. It's a blur. I remember ... BJORN ULVAEUS In the US we find the label requirements are crazy. It is almost as if we had to label a bookcase w... BJORN BAYLEY In the rich world, the environmental situation has improved dramatically. In the United States, the ... BJORN LOMBORG Just because there is a problem doesn't mean that we have to solve it, if the cure is going to b... BJORN LOMBORG Money spent on carbon cuts is money we can't use for effective investments in food aid, micronut... BJORN LOMBORG To prepare adequately for the challenge of global warming, we must acknowledge both the good and the... BJORN LOMBORG Just because there is a problem doesn't mean that we have to solve it, if the cure is going to be mo... BJORN LOMBORG It seems incontrovertible to me that there is a global warming effect and that it is going to be ser... BJORN LOMBORG In the same way, we have to investigate the solar mechanism, but right now, the IPC claims that it's... BJORN LOMBORG I think it's great that we have organisations like Greenpeace. In a pluralistic society, we want to ... BJORN LOMBORG I really try to say things as they basically are and it so happens that it is a good message that th... BJORN LOMBORG I really have to stress, I don't have a positive view. I'm not here to cheer people up. If the botto... BJORN LOMBORG I certainly worry and feel uncomfortable that people I have very little in common with politically w... BJORN LOMBORG Even if I was a bad right wing guy, to the extent of whether my arguments are right or wrong, they'r... BJORN LOMBORG But this is an occupational hazard of being a scientist. You say this is the best information I have... BJORN LOMBORG A review was published in Nature, very scathing, essentially calling me incompetent, though they did... BJORN LOMBORG We've seen ... substantial occupancy increases, which cause developers, lenders and others to have c... BJORN HANSON Hotel buyers have to be much smarter now than they did a year or two ago. BJORN HANSON The economics are extremely compelling. It is good for every reason we can think of. BJORN HANSON People see value in having these intensive services. If you are flying in and get home late, they wa... BJORN HANSON Although the maintenance and general condition of U.S. hotels is the best it has ever been, the indu... BJORN HANSON What we've seen is demand growing at three and a half to four and a half percent in some recent year... BJORN HANSON Everyone is asking for favors, for special consideration, BJORN HANSON What will happen, daily, is that the general manager or the director of sales or the representative ... BJORN HANSON [But it doesn't end there.] Guests will pay more for food and beverage and the use of fitness facili... BJORN HANSON It's not easy to part with the trophies. However, I do need to have some long-term financial securit... BJORN BORG If you're afraid of losing, then you daren't win. BJORN BORG You have to find it. No one else can find it for you. BJORN BORG When John McEnroe called me several times and wondered what I was doing, I guess I woke up. BJORN BORG My suggestion is that we should first work to ensure the Third World has clean drinking water and sa... BJORN LOMBORG The obvious issue is providing clean drinking water and sanitation to every single human being on ea... BJORN LOMBORG We need to invest dramatically in green energy, making solar panels so cheap that everybody wants th... BJORN LOMBORG On average, global warming is not going to harm the developing world. BJORN LOMBORG When thinking about the future, it is fashionable to be pessimistic. Yet the evidence unequivocally ... BJORN LOMBORG My greatest point is my persistence. I never give up in a match. However down I am, I fight until th... BJORN BORG You never know how long Federer is going to play, but in my opinion he has at least one or two more ... BJORN BORG Roger Federer is stylish. BJORN BORG As tennis players, we work and we sacrifice many things. To lose, that's not a happy thing - I m... BJORN BORG It's not easy to part with the trophies. However, I do need to have some long-term financial sec... BJORN BORG Listen, global warming is a real problem, but it' s not the end of the world. A 30-centimetre se... BJORN LOMBORG Global warming is real - it is man-made and it is an important problem. But it is not the end of the... BJORN LOMBORG We have to be aware that the scientific community throws up tons of different hypotheses and at a ce... BJORN LOMBORG It seems incontrovertible to me that there is a global warming effect and that it is going to be ser... BJORN LOMBORG I looked at a plaque in the clubhouse earlier in the week and I saw who shot 63 here. THOMAS BJORN I found university a little dispiriting. I thought I would enter the great halls of Plato, but inste... BJORN LOMBORG Let's put a lid on it. My results this year have shown I'm way beyond it. I've left those things beh... THOMAS BJORN He's not a one-major guy, he's a 10-major guy. He's going to go on now and contend for majors as he'... THOMAS BJORN We all saw how important Tiger was for the game on Friday, THOMAS BJORN It isn't a fit nickname. It is, in a way. He's an easy guy. He goes with the flow. But he's a very p... THOMAS BJORN It's not a great slot, but what can you do? It's difficult at this time of year with so much going o... THOMAS BJORN If we invest in researching and developing energy technology, we'll do some real good in the lon... BJORN LOMBORG Even if every major government were to slap huge taxes on carbon fuels - which is not going to happe... BJORN LOMBORG I think Al Gore has done a great service in making global warming cool. He's basically taken it ... BJORN LOMBORG I'm an old member of Greenpeace. I worried intensely, as I think most of my friends did, that th... BJORN LOMBORG I think it's great that we have organisations like Greenpeace. In a pluralistic society, we want... BJORN LOMBORG 1998 is turning out to be a transition year for the lodging industry, ... After seven consecutive ye... BJORN HANSON There are several reasons why these data are not available. In many parts of the world there are sim... BJORN HANSON [But will such balancing acts work? Analysts are doubtful.] No one is doing a great job, ... It's ve... BJORN HANSON There are some cities where there are still extraordinary discounts, BJORN HANSON There is no question that global warming will have a significant impact on already existing problems... BJORN LOMBORG We are in the early days of what could turn into a major humanitarian catastrophe. The alarm has bee... BJORN LJUNGQVIST But clearly McEnroe convinced me. BJORN BORG After great consideration and reasoning, I have decided that I will never sell my Wimbledon trophies... BJORN BORG I now realize how closely connected they are to my success as Wimbledon's winner in 1976-1980 and th... BJORN BORG Obviously, it is not easy to part with the trophies that symbolize all the tremendous effort, both p... BJORN BORG However, I do need to have some long-term financial security for those close to me and now believe t... BJORN BORG Even though the symbols of my victories are being sold, what I will always retain is the knowledge t... BJORN BORG I hope people will enjoy watching us because we are definitely coming to Dubai to communicate our ow... BJORN BORG I don't know what we are going to do to find more speed. If I try to drive the car faster, I end up ... BJORN WIRDHEIM Montreal is the only track that we visit this year that I have raced on before, BJORN WIRDHEIM I was there last year with Jaguar for the Formula One race, and I did the Friday practice. BJORN WIRDHEIM Large deals just aren't getting done. We continue to see smaller deals, but companies are still hesi... BJORN TURNQUIST Depressed valuations may help fuel acquisitions in specialty finance and asset management and broker... BJORN TURNQUIST M&A in insurance was bleak this quarter. Equity market jitters combined with accounting and reserve ... BJORN TURNQUIST There's uncertainty within the insurance industry, as companies are currently unwilling to take the ... BJORN TURNQUIST We live in a world increasingly shaped by sustainable growth issues. BJORN STIGSON Business has a key role to play. Here we are. It is up to us to create a sustainable path in the wor... BJORN STIGSON I grew up watching and admiring Agassi. He is a legend. So this definitely is the biggest win of my ... BJORN PHAU The total number of people in need of food assistance will be just below 10 million for 2006. BJORN LJUNGQVIST Already we have an emerging crisis in the pastoral regions of Ethiopia with about 1.7 million people... BJORN LJUNGQVIST This is the largest non-food appeal since the drought emergency of 2003 in Ethiopia. BJORN LJUNGQVIST As ever, women and children will bear the brunt of this disaster. BJORN LJUNGQVIST The alarm has been raised in time but if we don't get the support we need, the results could be cata... BJORN LJUNGQVIST Without urgent help the drought could spiral. Urgent emergency intervention in the form of food, wat... BJORN LJUNGQVIST Wishful thinking is not sound public policy. BJORN LOMBORG The second thing is, if you want to do something about global warming, you have to think much more l... BJORN LOMBORG I tentatively believe in a god. I was brought up in a fairly religious home. I think the world is co... BJORN LOMBORG Even if I was a bad right wing guy, to the extent of whether my arguments are right or wrong, they... BJORN LOMBORG Of course, the world is full of problems. But on the other hand it's important to get the sense.... BJORN LOMBORG A review was published in Nature, very scathing, essentially calling me incompetent, though they did... BJORN LOMBORG Basically I started playing double handed on both my forehand and backhand side because my first rac... BJORN BORG There is no doubt that we should take solar radiation into account. We have seen ground temperatures... BJORN LOMBORG The saddest fact of climate change - and the chief reason we should be concerned about finding a pro... BJORN LOMBORG When a business group tells us there is nothing wrong with the environment, naturally they may have ... BJORN LOMBORG The only thing that will really change global warming in the long run is if we radically increase th... BJORN LOMBORG We worry about the seemingly ever-increasing number of natural catastrophes. Yet this is mainly a co... BJORN LOMBORG So it's mainly a question of helping the Third World overcome the effects of global warming. BJORN LOMBORG The main environmental challenge of the 21st century is poverty. When you don't know where your ... BJORN LOMBORG Obviously any group that has to have funding also needs to get attention to their issues. BJORN LOMBORG Think on a 50-year scale, which is a much more natural time-scale for global warming. The US is righ... BJORN LOMBORG When I retired from tennis I wanted to do other things with my life. BJORN BORG I'm amazed that years after I stopped playing tennis, people still recognize me in restaurants a... BJORN BORG I'm an actor who plays an intriguing character, not a political pundit. BJORN BORG I enjoy fashion. BJORN BORG I was fascinated by a compelling character embroiled in a controversial topic that told the story fr... BJORN BORG You know growing up in Sweden meant we had a lot of rain when we played tennis. We were taught on cl... BJORN BORG I just hated to lose. BJORN BORG I had a great tennis career. I have no regrets. But to find peace with yourself, and to finally be w... BJORN BORG It's tough when you're No. 1. You don't have any private life, you can't even walk a... BJORN BORG I wanted to win, even in practice. BJORN BORG If you're afraid of losing, then you daren't win. BJORN BORG I play tennis five hours a week, from Monday to Friday, for one hour every day. I like to be fit. If... BJORN BORG But what little we did know, we brandished wildly like cavemen’s clubs, slinging out stuff we felt... BJORN SHEN I think nothing is inherent. BJORN G. AMELAN There's a multitude of things happening on stage. It's OK not so see everything. People should treat... BJORN G. AMELAN So it's a positive symbol of beauty. BJORN G. AMELAN Dance is powerful because it's a visual art form that's entirely body-based. A body - it's something... BJORN G. AMELAN