Some songwriters just wait for inspiration, those are not likely to succeed. Inspiration comes as a result of work; to get inspired you have to work hard and practice. So, how can you practice songwriting?! The habit of sitting down to actually think about a subject, to look up words in rhyme dictionaries, to play the piano for just the right chord...etc. All this is just the habit of practicing.
As you practice more, HIT IDEAS will suddenly come to you out of the blue!! Writing hit songs is the inspiration that you worked hard to get. For example, you might spend a lot of nights wearing your brains out writing melodies (that is practicing, and organizing your songwriting thoughts), and then while shopping for shoes an amazing melody starts echoing in your head: That's your hit song.
This means that practicing doesn't get you hit songs or hit ideas, instead it trains your brain to function better musically and to become more aware of "songwriting potential" in things occurring in your environment. There are other habits, besides practicing, that are useful too. These habits are tools to help the songwriter collect the fruits of practicing. Here they are....
Habit One. Have a notebook with you at all times:
Anytime you get an idea jot it down, even if its just one word.
Habit Two. Have a recorder with you at all times (mobile phone is ideal):
you’ll never forget those Hit melodies if you’ve got them recorded.
Habit Three. Ask people what they think about your creations:
ALL feedback is good. Don’t be put down by negative feedback, remember people have different tastes.
"How To Get Started" free songwriting online course. http://www.songwritingfever.com/songwritingtips/getstarted.html
If you’re feeling UNINSPIRED try some of these techniques:
GENERAL MEANING – what does the song say overall? What is the general picture being painted/feeling being communicated? This may affect the key, time signature, general use of rhythm and harmony in the piece being written
FORM – How the words are split up into sections will help you see the musical forms you can write in.
MIRRORING – how we can use the direct meaning of a word (e.g. ‘mountain so high…’ etc) and mirror that meaning in the way we write melodic lines (e.g. ascending motif)
RELATED SYMBOLISM – taking a related image or sound from a lyric and mirroring this in the way we write melodic lines (e.g. if the lyric refers to a machine gun, then we might use a series of semi-quaver motifs in the melodic line to represent bullets).