Dumb, corny, or stupid.

What do you do when you really like what you're writing as you're writing it, but afterwards it sounds dumb or corny or too old-fashioned? I mean, all the time, not just occasionally. I want to know what YOU do when EVERYTHING you write sounds, to you, stupid.

Walk away, listen to something different from what I've been listening to.

I stopped for about a year once. I did other things; wrote texts, played in an industrial band, made videos. When I came back, I was better, and I was lucky because so many fall off the vine once they make such a move.

It is often the case in any creative discipline to need to take a step back. I think the key to staying on the vine is to remain involved in other artistic pursuits to keep one's interests sharp.

Uncle Dave

This used to happen to me a lot. Strangely, nowadays, the complete opposite happens, particular if I'm creating a computer realisation of something. I'll be focusing so much more on the tiny individual details than any listener would, and I'm usually not fully satisfied with whatever the final result is. When I approach it some time later as more of a listener, it sounds a lot better.

I'll be focusing so much more on the tiny individual details than any listener would, and I'm usually not fully satisfied with whatever the final result is. When I approach it some time later as more of a listener, it sounds a lot better.

Same for me.

Listen to as much different music as possible. Usually when I write somethig that I don't like later, it's when I'm writing something that I'm (intentionally or not) trying to make sound like something else. When I just let my stuff happen how it's supposed to, then it usually turns out okay.

But yeah, listen to different stuff. If you mostly listen to 'traditional' music (art music, mostly) try listening to some pop music. Not necessarily radio music, because most of that stuff is for entertainment value, not artistic value. But YouTube some different bands that make music for the sake of making good music. That can give you some new ideas.

Some good bands to YouTube:

Explosions in the Sky

Radiohead

Ratatat

Galactic

Geisert8

Those are good starting points.

That tends to happen to me when I 'over-work' the piece, I get to focused with the piece. What I do then is let the piece rest, just like one needs to rest after a jog or anything physically challenging. Let the piece rest and at the same time you also get a distance to the piece, a perspective.

Another way to solve it is by actually having the piece already plotted out and all you need to do is get it written down. Brainstorm as much as possible and fill in as much as possible in the outline. It could help, it certainly does not help me though.