When your lyric is nearly done, read it aloud several times. If you have a melody, sing it, too. Look for spots that don't feel right. If you keep telling yourself that a particular line is good enough, it's probably not. Here's a lyric checklist to help you out. Remember that a lyric can be technically perfect and still be a bomb.

• The story is clear and easy to follow.

• The lyric style works well with the musical style.

• The lyric matches the mood of the music.

• The rhyme scheme is consistent and rhymes are unforced.

• The meter is interesting and fairly symmetrical within sections of the song.

• The style and vocabulary choices are appropriate to the target market.

• The syntax and grammar of the song feel natural.

• Any unnecessary words and clichés have been removed or replaced.

• The song makes the listener see the story.

• It feels done.

Thinking Outside the Box

Once you've got a firm grip on the fundamentals of lyric writing, bend the rules, break them, make new ones, and try them out. The songwriters who make the biggest splash are the ones who find new ways of saying something or, if they're really lucky, a thing that no one has ever said.

Look for great songs that break the rules and figure out why they work: There may be a new rule hiding in there somewhere. Songwriting rules are really guidelines to help you avoid trouble spots. Most times, it's easier to color inside the lines, follow the rules, and do what you know will work. Sometimes, though, it's fun to try something different. Whether it works or not depends on how you do it and whether or not it's a good day.