Taylor Swift was named songwriter-artist of the decade at the Nashville Songwriter Awards this week.  And she revealed that she groups her lyrics into three distinct categories.

They are:  Quill Lyrics, Fountain Pen Lyrics, and Glitter Gel Pen Lyrics.

She said, “I came up with these categories based on what writing tool I imagine having in my hand when I scribbled it down, figuratively.  I don’t actually have a quill.  Anymore.  I broke it once when I was mad.”

Here’s how she described the categories:

1.  Quill Lyrics:  “If the words and phrasings are antiquated, if I was inspired to write it after reading Charlotte Brontë or after watching a movie where everyone is wearing poet shirts and corsets.”  Example:  “Ivy“

2.  Fountain Pen Lyrics:  “A modern storyline or references, with a poetic twist.  Taking a common phrase and flipping its meaning . . . the songs I categorize in this style sound like confessions scribbled and sealed in an envelope, but too brutally honest to ever send.”  Example:  “All Too Well“

3.  Glitter Gel Pen lyrics:  “Frivolous, carefree, bouncy, syncopated perfectly to the beat . . .

“Glitter Gel Pen lyrics are the drunk girl at the party who tells you that you look like an angel in the bathroom.  It’s what we need every once in a while in these fraught times in which we live.”  Example:  “Shake It Off“