I have to try different things to see what works best. Other people get impatient with that.

When I started out playing guitar and singing, I was about twelve, going on thirteen. The role models for me back then were the folk singers. They all had these high, really nice voices and ranges, like Judy Collins and Joan Baez, and then later, of course, Joni Mitchell and Linda Ronstadt. I decided early on that I was going to learn how to write songs really, really well, because I didn't want to have to compete as a singer. I didn't feel that it was my strong point.

I can speak for most songwriters - those breakup love songs are so easy to write, as far as the inspiration and all that.

Offer your art up to the whole world, not just an elite few.

I'm always writing ideas down and then I stick em in my pocket and put em in that folder so I don't lose them. Like, somebody might say something, and I'll go, oh that's a good line, and that goes in the folder, too. It's kind of an ongoing process for me.

Any time there's a major change, whether it's going into a relationship, getting out of a relationship, moving to a new city, a death - that usually provides a catalyst for an explosion of creativity.

I write the songs, go in and record them, then I listen to everything and decide how it all fits together.