Write the first verse. Verses are where the story is told, usually in three parts; verse one, two and three. The first verse introduces the story line, as illustrated in John Lennon's ballad "Girl," from the Beatles' "Rubber Soul." Lennon begins the ballad with "Is there anybody going to listen to my story, all about the girl who came to stay."
Create the chorus. The chorus is a repetitive line that follows each verse, plus the bridge. In "Girl," the chorus is simple, consisting of "Ah girl, girl." repeated once. The chorus normally remains the same throughout the ballad.
Write verse two. Following the first chorus, the story is further developed in verse two. Lennon furthers the narrative by adding, " When I think of all the times I've tried to leave her, she will turn to me and start to cry." The chorus follows verse two.
Develop the bridge. Following the second chorus, the bridge comes into play, and is commonly the instrumental portion of the ballad. However, in "Girl," Lennon uses verse three for the bridge. The chord format changes during the bridge, and Lennon declares, "She's the kind of girl who puts you down when friends are there, you feel a fool." The bridge is a change that both separates and bridges the ballad's beginning and its ending.
Follow the bridge with the chorus, setting up verse three, or the outro."
Compose the outro. The outro is the final verse, meant to resolve the story. In "Girl," Lennon begins this resolution verse with, "Was she told when she was young that fame would lead to pleasure, did she understand it when they said." Ballads can end at this point, but in "Girl," the Beatles return to the chorus following the outro. This illustrates the flexibility of ballad formatting.