Stuck in a Rut.. Can't make songs

[AKMG]

It seems that I have encountered a "guitar writer's" block. I can't throw out anymore songs. I'm the rhythm guitarist in my band and I wrote and co-wrote all of our songs without a drum beat or a bass.

Most of my ideas and inspirations usally just came to me; I'd just mess around with different chords and once I heard something I liked, I worked off of that. But somehow I'm out of ideas. I started trying to create things over the past two weeks but whatever I try to create always seems like the last songs I've written. I try to take things I've heard in songs I liked and vary it a bit and put that into my ideas, but it then sounds very similar to that particular song...

Any ideas how to overcome this and/or different things to inspire me? What gets you inspired and do you ever have this problem?

[waylay00]

Don't play guitar for a few days. If you put it down for a few days and return with a fresh mind, you might come up with some neat new ideas.

[mi2tom]

Originally Posted by waylay00

Don't play guitar for a few days. If you put it down for a few days and return with a fresh mind, you might come up with some neat new ideas.

+1000000!!! This is so damn true if you ask me, I think many great players out there spend hours and hours a day to get their technique right but when they've got it, they just spend only one time in a few days to write songs, in that way they are always fresh

[crevis]

I wouldnt say a few days but it definately helps to clear your mind. Alot of times ive been practising a song and cant get it down because im just to distracted, then ill have a day off (for me that means practising like an hour or 2 instead of > 5 hours) and come back to it and play it straight up.

[Angelo Guitars]

Try changing your routine. Maybe this time start with a drum pattern, and develop a riff from that. Or if there are lyrics already written, start that way.

Writing songs via messing around or noodling, is cool, but might become an issue when you have to write an albums worth of songs on a timetable. Just try different approaches and don't think about it too much.