- Genre- is it gonna be Rock, Jazz, Country, Contemporary Worship, or what? Knowing your genre is key to plotting out what instruments will be used, and what kind of emotion will be portrayed.
- Subject matter- so many times I've heard lyrics thrown together and after hearing them I have no idea what the author is trying to convey. Okay maybe it worked in Miss American Pie, but by and large the best songs come across with a very clear and universal message.
- Lyrics- whether they rhyme or not they should roll off the tongue and be easy to sing.
- Melody- it should be memorable and congruent with the style of music.
- Hooks- they grab people and get them singing along. But be careful not to be too repetitious.
- Form- Here's a sample of a song form layout: An Intro, a verse, a chorus, a verse, another chorus, a bridge, an instrumental, another chorus and an ending. It doesn't have to be that complex, but you get the idea.
Try not to get hung up on writing the "best song ever"! That is a very elusive goal and the harder you try, the further away you will find yourself. The best song you ever write will probably pour out of you in two minutes time with very little effort, but not always! Don't worry about your song sounding like somebody else's either. Most likely something very similar has been written. So what? Don't plagiarize, but loosen up and have fun with songwriting.