Paula Cole

“The more evolved periods of my life are when I’m journaling. My journal is a backbone to my life, a conversation with my subconscious. It makes for a healthy mind and spirit.”

For Paula Cole, the songwriting process is deeply contemplative and kinesthetic.

The press shot you see in my interview with Paula Cole reflects how she approaches her creative process: with deep introspection, almost a meditative state. I even saw that in every question I asked. There was no rush to answer, no quick responses. Instead, she thought for a few seconds, breathed deeply, and answered thoughtfully.

Paula Cole won a Grammy in 1997 for Best New Artist. She's also a seven-time nominee in categories including Album of the Year (The Fire), Record of the Year and Song of the Year ("Where Have All the Cowboys Gone"). And you probably know her as the singer and songwriter of "I Don't Want to Wait," the theme song to Dawson's Creek.

Most songwriters fall into three categories when it comes to journaling: those who do, those who don’t and have no desire to start, and those who don’t but really wished they did. Cole is firmly in the first camp. “I do a lot of writing outside of songwriting, because that’s where the songs come from, ” she told me. Journaling is an important part of her songwriting process, and it’s also an important part of a healthy life. She often looks back on those journals for song ideas.

But journaling is just one part of Cole’s very kinesthetic writing process. “I feel it in my body, like there are songs burgeoning,” she told me. “It’s like feeling creatively pregnant.” Cole uses movement to bear those songs. They come from walking, swimming, gardening, and dancing (to Donna Summer, natch). Even the keyboard plays a role: the deeper the key travel, the better. And then there’s this advice she gives to songwriters: “drink drink drink, pee pee pee.”

Cole's new album American Quilt will be released on May 21.