In a documentary on Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Nick Cave shares his song writing process. I am always in search of something that assists. Sure, I have my process – lots of word spillage then many, many revisions. But I am also always curious about other ways to get the desired effect. His begins with daily journal writing: he writes about everything he sees and feels, and I confess mine is more tailored to whatever project I’m working on. My journal writing is self-limiting; his is not. When he begins work on a song, he mines the contents of his journal, looking for the relevant parts that bring to life the song in his head. Afterwards, as any good poet, he picks the opposing bits, setting up the juxtaposition of thoughts and emotions. My own verbosity tends to get in the way of poetry writing. And yet, in the novel under revision, I was in need of a song that my blue-grass musician could write for his new love interest. I tried many times for the words that would convey his thoughts and feelings. The Cave documentary helped. I searched my journals, mined the content, opposed as much as was possible and took it from there, revising miserably for weeks. Thanks to following Cave’s lead, I was happier with the result than any previous iteration. I love his writing process, his music too.