So now that Taylor Swift is name-checking Dylan Thomas and Patti Smith, creating library-themed pop-ups, and igniting fierce debate over apostrophes, it seems time to welcome her to the literary community, yes?

In a sense, Taylor was already here, as is any songwriter who tries to write lyrics with story, character, and meaning rather than just sounds to accompany the music (looking your way, Dave Grohl).

What can Taylor teach us about writing? In her speech at the 2022 Nashville Songwriters Awards (there’s that pesky lack of an apostrophe again), she broke her lyrics down into three categories, defined by the imaginary writing instrument best suited in spirit to generating them:

• Quill: “If the words and phrasings are antiquated.”
• Fountain Pen: “A modern storyline or references, with a poetic twist. Taking a common phrase and flipping its meaning.”
• Glitter Gel Pen: “Frivolous, carefree, bouncy, syncopated perfectly to the beat.”

Think of it like pseudonyms. Joyce Carol Oates likes to write mystery novels under the name Rosamond Smith, even after people found out it was her. Same with J.K. Rowling and her Robert Galbraith books. Why? One reason could be that a different writing identity helps you shape the words and imagine the story differently. Setting could be the same. You might scribble something down fast with a Bic on a napkin at a bar which will be very different from something you come up with sitting with your laptop in a quiet sun-lit room overlooking a lake.

Not everything you write will be the same. It shouldn’t be. Vary your material whenever possible.

Every now and again, reach for the glitter gel pen.