Write down a working title for your new song. The title of the song will help you come up with words, phrases and ideas for what you want your song to be about. Write down all of your ideas underneath the title to help you organize your thoughts. The working title can often change after the song is written. Remember that this is just one approach to song writing and you will have to find out what procedure gets your creativity flowing.
Write the lyrics of your song. Your song should follow a structure with a clear verse, chorus, and bridge. Each verse in a song has the same melody but with different lyrics. The verse should give information about the emotions or thoughts of the people in the song. Each verse is separated by a chorus, which has the a different melody than the verse, and has the same lyrics throughout the song. The chorus is the heart of the song. While there are many verses in a song, there is only one chorus. The bridge has a third melody, which provides a break from the repetition of the verse and chorus. It should have different lyrics and chord progression. Like the chorus, there is only one bridge. When writing the lyrics that require a melody, do not worry about the sound of the song -- just focus on the words.
Practice writing the lyrics of your song to the music of a popular song. This can help you create a full set of meaningful lyrics. It can be difficult to create lyrics out of thin air and background music can help with this.
Write the melody and chord progressions. Writing a melody does not require any formal training, but it might be a bit helpful to learn music theory if you plan to write your own chord progressions. To write your own music you will need to be able to play a musical instrument like a guitar or keyboard. Once you have a chorus and a verse written you can start creating music that goes along with the words. Work only for brief periods of time, experimenting with different melodies and chords until you get the right sound for your song. Many famous musicians had no formal training and were able to write some of the most memorable songs of all time.
Finish the song by writing out your sheet music, or tab, with the lyrics. Writing down your song will help you remember exactly how you perfected it. If you don't know how to write music notation, just write down the names of the chords, or notes, and then write the lyrics beneath them.