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Mason Shirley
Dr. Charlotte Pitts
English 1301
2 October 2024
Writing Process Part Two
One thing interesting about songwriter and musician Stevie Nicks’ writing
process is that she doesn’t simply write just to write– She waits for an experience that
necessitates something to write. Rather it be a big life-changing experience, or simply “A
man walking by and smiling a certain way” (0:46). She waits for these kinds of
experiences to happen, and when they do, she takes that opportunity to create art.
Stevie Nicks has written every day since she was fifteen. She isn’t necessarily
always writing with the intention of creating music or poetry. (Exclusive 0:17).
Something Nicks has known well from a young age is that memories– big or small– will
fade. She writes to remember her days and what happens during them, because if she
doesn't, inevitably these memories will fade. Sometimes, even our core memories end up
forgotten. “Time passes– and stuff that’s very important to you, and that you never want
to forget, ends up sometimes forgotten.” (Exclusive 0:30)
She doesn’t always write every single thing that happened during her day,
however. She will simply take the important parts that she wants to remember, and
summarize them. She makes sure not to clutter her mind with minor or unimportant
memories. By putting those unimportant things aside, she creates leeway for the more
significant things– for instance, the things she writes about in her songs. This ensures that
only the more significant memories in the bunch are prioritized. “I’m gonna summarize
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it, so that in 10 years I’ll be able to go back and read a couple pages about today”
(Exclusive, 0:45).
Nicks deeply values the memories she makes in her life. Her true drive for writing
is her fear of forgetting. “I write so that this moment won’t have faded to nothing”
(Exclusive, 0:47). She values these moments deeply, because not only does writing them
ensure she doesn’t forget them, but experiencing those moments in the first place is what
allows her something to write about.
Most songs will start as poems, and later develop into something with music and
instruments. However, for Nicks, this isn’t always the case. Lots of her songs were so
spontaneous and powerful that she already knew she was writing a song when she began,
and already had a melody in mind.
Ultimately, the writing process of Stevie Nicks is a very unique one, to say the
least. She doesn’t just write out of simple desire to create music, but rather she waits until
real emotions, memories, or experiences will give her something to write about.
She’s not necessarily only a song writer, but just a writer in general, who’s writing
sometimes turns into music at some point in her process. She deeply values the memories
she makes, which is what persuades her to write so much. While she isn’t always
necessarily writing to create music, sometimes that is her intention from the beginning.
Every so often, Nicks will experience something that she immediately knows she will
write a song about.
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Works Cited
Nicks, Stevie. “Exclusive: Stevie Nicks Reveals Why Writing Is so Important | Oprah’s Master
Class | OWN.” YouTube, 25 Mar. 2013,
[Link]/NFSMIla9SpE?si=40VMaWH5lwiUCcvu. Accessed 16 Oct. 2024.
---. “Eye to Eye: Stevie Nicks on Songwriting.” YouTube, 30 Mar. 2007,
[Link]/KIlfT-aDTko?si=58qU-lxTMDfb47ZK. Accessed 16 Oct. 2024.
Works Cited
