So, to all the song writers out there, how do you approach the whole process? Do you get inspired by other songs or when you're squeezing one out on the john crapper? Do your ideas come at once or do you just start with a section and see what that inspires? Start with a piano/acoustic or just go straight to recording?

Rustx

I almost always get hugely inspired by something else, which I then take and try to make it my own, which not always works out

I am usually inspired by other songs. I end up writing the lyrics first, and then have the idea for the music in my head. When I finally get to writing the music down, I almost always forget what I was originally thinking for the song. (I should probably stop doing this)
I just sit with my guitar and then I write all the instruments into TuxGuitar.(because I'm too poor for Guitar Pro)
I only write the music for short bursts at one time so I don't have to force anything and it becomes the best it can be. (usually shit anyways though. haha)

I've changed the way I write recently which has helped a lot. I used to just pick up an acoustic and jam around until something I stumbled onto something I thought sounded cool but I found it a pain to do and it put me off writing cos anything good more came by fluke.

Since I started Uni tho I've had to adapt to being able to write the basics of a song as quickly as possible but I've found a more comfortable way of doing things which is to settle on a sound that you want find 2-3 songs that you want it to sound like and cross reference everything from them so bringing up guitar charts and listening to them over and over for similarities to use as a pastiche. Which can sometimes come across as stealing but when you notice the amount of similarities in songs who cares haha I asked Youth from Killing Joke if he was annoyed about Nivarna stealing the riff to eighties and using it in come as you are and he said "well we stole that in the first place" which I liked.

I've started carrying a note book with me everywhere and my phones audio memo is littered with melodies that I was worried I'd forget.

Granted I write with an extremely pop styling and try to keep things as simple as possible for that reason such as using as few chords as possible...Apart from one song that has 25 but that doesn't count

oh and I always have to have a title first which drives me crazy!

Well if i`m by myself i normally just think of a riff or something using only my head (dunno maybe lying on the bed or sofa) and then pick up my guitar and try to reproduce the riff, well if i liked it of course...
but if i`m jamming with the band and have to come up with something quickly i just let my hands do the work and stop thinking of what i`m doing... cool thing is that it normally works (lol)