Here's a txt that I got during the songwriter's seminar here. It
was handed out by  a TX publisher/copyright attorney who is out of Austin.
                     SONGWRITING TECHNIQUES
Somebody described a song as a three-minute drama.  Conversational. You and 
me.
The TITLE of the song should be short and compelling; make it memorable.
The placement of this title is better if it appears 1) In the first line
of the first verse, and/or the 2) last line of the first verse, and/or 3)
the first line of the chorus (specially if it is a hook-chorus, and much more
if it repeats), and/or 4) the last line of the chorus.  Avoid placing the 
title in the
middle of a line, (or in the middle of a verse) where it could get lost.
The OPENING LINE should draw us right into the situation at hand with 
outstanding emotional/lyrical content. "You looked inside my fantasies and 
made each one come true".
THe FIRST VERSE should tell us all about WHO, WHAT, WHERE, WHEN, WHY, and 
HOW. It should not leave us asking what is this song about?  Many songwriters 
make the second part of the first verse CLIMB to the Chorus.  Don't make it 
long - GET TO THE CHORUS.
The CHORUS - hooks, repetive phrases that combined with their own melody line 
provide a SUMMARY of the drama or a COMMENTARY about you and me.  The MUSICAL 
HOOKS of a song make us hum this song even after we've heard it only once. 
This is where the melodic, lyrical, and instrumental HOOKS belong.  The 
melody of the Chorus must be different from the melody of the verses; the 
lyrics lines should, for the most part, also be different from those in the 
verses; length of lines, length of notes, meter, (remember high school poetry 
classes?) melodic emphasis, length of sections (example: long verse, short 
chorus).
The VERSE AFTER THE CHORUS should not just repeat what's been said in the 
first verse, not even in different words (boring).  If you get stumped here, 
tell us, WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED FROM THIS EXPERIENCE-- in a drama we call this 
CHARACTER GROWTH, usually because our character comes to a decision, but it 
should never be easy: "A fool will ose tomorrow, looking back to yesterday".  
This is where you place the PAYOFF.  You may want to change scenes, like  in 
a movie.  Some experts advise to write a second verse that gives the chorus a 
different meaning.  This verse should be identical in structure to the first 
verse: number of lines, rhyme scheme, meter, accented beats, etc.
If your song has a bridge in addition to a chorus, it must be a KILLER 
BRIDGE! Lyrically and melodically different from verses and chorus - it must 
ADD ANOTHER DIMENSION to the song.  Not all songs need one. Some songs have a 
bridge with no chorus.
A SONG MUST HAVE A BEGINNING, A MIDDLE AND AN END! NO EXCEPTIONS.
EMOTIONALLY:  1. We hear and see.  2. We feel, then 3. We know -- THIS IS THE 
PAYOFF.
OTHER ADVISE:  Show, don't tell.  Paint pictures with words! When it comes to 
songwriting, EVERYTHING IS RADIO, RADIO, RADIO.  Avoid passive sense, use 
active verbs; Avoid inverted phrases ("waiting, I stood in the rain").  Avoid 
mixing past and present tenses.  LEARN THE LANGUAGE OF THE INDUSTRY: do you 
know what an AABA song is (not to be confused with an a,b,a,b rhyme scheme)? 
Avoid "it":  "I threw it all away."
YOUR GOAL:  To make your song be remembered by the first time listener.  
Rhyme schemes make this possible.  Be consistent, stick to the rhyme scheme 
of the first verse.
DON'T WRITE GOOD SONGS, WRITE GREAT ONES!  Those are the only ones we want to 
hear.  Keep the good ones to yourself.  NEVER STOP LEARNING, REVISING, FINE- 
TUNE.  USE METAPHORS, SIMILES, FIGURE OF SPEECH, ALLITERATION.
 Courtesy of: Song City America, Music Publisher, c/o David Garcia,Jr.
Nancy
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