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I'm really good at writing 'almost hits'.

Keep it in tune with the times, but don't write with the specific purpose of trying to create a hit. If you're doing it strictly to make money, you're crazy. There are easier ways to make money.

One thing I've had to realize in my career is that I can't do it all. Sometimes we put a lot of pressure on ourselves to make sure we're writing the next hit. There are other people out there, and that's what they do every day, and they have strengths that I don't have.

I'm not the most talented writer in the world. I know that. But I also know that I'm disciplined, that I work my butt off, and that I make myself write as much as I can. Writer's block is a luxury I can't afford. I'm a professional writer, which means that I put my butt in the chair each day, and I write. Simple as that.

When I do write, it happens really easily. I'll just kind of sing along to whatever I'm playing, then find a line to build off of, then sit down and write. When I do write, I take care of business!

And I mean, I'm established. So I'm not worried about having a hit at this point in my career.

I have acting technique; I have singing technique; I don't have a writing technique to fall back on.

I try to sit down at the typewriter four times a day, even if it's only five minutes, and write three sentences.

You don't just go to the studio and say, 'I'm going to write a hit.' It becomes a hit when people like your compositions.

It's hard for a hit to be bad for your career.