SONGWRITING: two heads are better than one

It's only relatively recently that I've started co-writing. Actually, it's way more fun than at first it might seem. I used be worried about someone else hearing the first stages of a song (you know the bit where it's pretty embarrassing 'cos it's nowhere near ready yet!). But, I've discovered that if you just go for it, it can be amazingly productive. There are a number of ways of doing this - you can sit in a room together and see what ideas start to form; you can try an idea by yourself, and then invite someone else into the process; you can write the first draft and then send a recording to a friend for them to take it to the next stage. I've tried all of these methods, and they all work pretty well. It's amazing how differently someone else 'hears' the song in their head, and the contribution that they then make - way better than I could ever do just by myself!