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Published Articles

Read a few articles Dennis has published on various websites such as HuffingtonPost.com and CNBC. 

The Grammys and Us

 

​​Sunday night was Grammy night on CBS. I watched most of it, and of course watching and listening to the performers made me think about writing and music, and what we are tasked with as writers.

 

First of all, writing can be a lonely job. We, for the most part, write alone. Occasionally we bring in a co-writer, but most often it is just us, sitting in a room somewhere, sweating over a keyboard or a pencil and paper, hoping to fill the page with words that matter.

 

Songwriters do the same. They most often write alone. Sometimes the professional songwriters set up writing appointments and write with others. But, however they do it, here's the important part: They write EVERY DAY. That regular exercise is the only way to hone your writing gift to a fine edge. I had a songwriter friend say one time to me, "I write every day, and that's what writers do. They write."

'Michigan'

 

A few weeks ago I saw a story on the national news about a young man who was battling brain cancer. I think he was probably 12 or 13 at most. A brave kid, no doubt.

 

He was going through the treatment process and it was still touch and go. Then, one day, he decided to do the most unusual thing. He decided to call his tumor something, to name it. He is a BIG Ohio State fan, and his tumor was his enemy, and so to no one's surprise, he named his tumor 'Michigan.'
 

'Michigan.'

 

He focused for the next few months on stomping 'Michigan' into oblivion and, one day, he did just that. They showed an x-ray of the place where the tumor used to be, and sure enough "Michigan' was nowhere to be found. The more he talked about 'Michigan' and the more he focused on it, the better he got. He's in remission, now, thank God.

 

What's Your Song?

 

Until recently, I was pretty sure that I knew everything or most everything about communicating effectively. Then in the spring of 2012, I was caught completely off guard, and without any preparation for what I think was the single greatest lesson I have ever learned about communication. And it came from a songwriting experience, of all places.

 

Just think about it. A songwriter typically has three minutes to say everything. And the best of these artisans make it look easy and effortless, but as I was about to discover, it is anything but.

 

Every week, I get an email notice from the Nashville recording community called the RowFax. The RowFax is an alert to songwriters and publishers about who is recording and what kind of material they might be looking for. Sometimes they even go so far as to tell you what tempos they are looking for, or even what subject matter they're interested in.

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