"I'm realizing how neurotic my process is as I'm talking to you," Jade Bird said, laughing, during our conversation. Indeed, Bird is pretty specific about her writing ritual, which can be intense: she usually takes a walk after writing to relieve back stiffness that comes from hunching over her notebook. And while many songwriters boost their creativity through movement, Bird says that there's nothing like a good nap.

Bird's latest album is Who Wants to Talk About Love on Glassnote Records.

At some point I told Megan James and Corin Roddick, who compose Purity Ring, that this was the bizarro episode: I'd mention something that a lot of songwriters do, and they told me that they actually did the opposite. But that's why I love this band because the music they create is so incredibly unique.

Their latest album is the self-titled Purity Ring.

Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová of The Swell Season feel no need to write every day. They both wait patiently for a spark. "I have no worries if I don't write anything. I'm available 24/7," Hansard says. "I never noodle, never rehearse, never just play around." For Irglová, she feels a current. "There's something calling me to the piano. There's a feeling. I plant the seed, then let it ruminate by doing something else like taking a walk," she says.

Both can write most anywhere. Hansard wrote his song "Her Mercy" while waiting at a baggage claim in New Zealand. Irglová only needs space: she can't write in a busy place, which is why Iceland, where she lives, is ideal.

The Swell Season won the 2007 Academy Award for Best Original Song for "Falling Slowly". Their latest album is Forward.