We were lucky to catch up with Nell recently and have shared our conversation below.

Nell, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.

I learned to write good songs by writing bad songs. I began writing when I was about 15 years old, and wrote mostly alone for about ten years. In those years I had no judgement of myself for what I made; I was writing simply because I had something I needed to say. When I moved to Nashville at 25 and began pursuing professional songwriting, I felt a new pressure to write songs that were good from a commercial standpoint. This made me feel discouraged from and almost scared to write, so I started giving myself verbal instructions to write a bad song. Not permission to write a bad song, but an instruction to write a bad song. It was very effective and helped me churn out hundreds of songs, over which I saw tremendous growth. Also during this time I was studying hits closely and trying to emulate writers and artists whose work spoke to me. One of the most essential skills I’ve developed is listening to the artist I’m working with, both the sound they want and the story they want to tell.

Nell, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I am a songwriter in Nashville, Tennessee. I write pop and country songs with artists at various stages of their careers. I started writing as a teenager in Colorado and moved to Nashville at 25 to pursue commercial songwriting professionally.

I have worked hard to be a writer who makes space in a writing session for an artist to tell the truth. I love to write honest songs, since these are the ones that cut across the noise and resonate with listeners on a big scale. I am most proud of the songs I’ve been a part of that have made people feel seen, especially those who need it most.

The songs that come to mind are “Blueneck” by Chris Housman, written with Chris and Tommy Kratzert, which gave a voice to many rural, social justice-minded listeners who felt isolated both socially and politically. Also “Fat”, with Kate Yeager, which has been viral more times than I can count, and has resonated with millions of people who were struck by the personal truth in Kate singing “I didn’t know how to hate myself ’til I learned it from someone else”.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

I am very motivated by the power of songs to drive positive social change. I love working with artists who have minority identities, either in society at large or within their genres, because they have the fans who need their art the most. I am gay, and I cannot tell you how meaningful it would have been to have gay artists in the zeitgeist as a child – to have seen the possibilities for my future anywhere. I want to make art for people who struggle to picture their futures, or who struggle to feel any belonging in their communities. For people like us, joy plays an absolutely vital role. So even if the songs aren’t about the heavy stuff, even if they’re just a brilliant happy pop songs, they provide an essential experience.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

At age six, on a chairlift, I turned to my mother and said “mom, what’s the meaning of life?” (I was a very serious little girl). I felt a vacuum surrounding this question; I couldn’t make sense of what any of us was doing here. This existential anxiety followed me until the very first time I felt words and a melody flow together through me – it’s a flow state that, every time, feels deeply connected and important. I knew then that I wanted to spend as much of my life in communion with songs as I possibly could.

I feel that having a passion is a gift. Whether it’s your career or you keep it completely separate from monetization, loving something as much as I love writing songs gives a core of meaning to my life, and I will follow it for as long as it calls me.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.nellmaynard.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nellmaudemaynard/

Image Credits

Megan Morris Photo
Morgan Jergens