Look at your lyrics the way you'd analyze a poem in an English class. Try and figure out exactly what you're singing about, and what sort of reaction you were attempting from the song. Remember, a music video is basically a short musical film based on an original screenplay by you. What's the story you wrote?

That's not to say you need to go completely literal with your interpretation. Some of the best music videos are completely abstract representations of the message of the song. Niki & the Dove's "The Fox" comes to mind. The band certainly wasn't singing about a transformer falling through a strange landscape, but it sure does sum up the sentiments of the track nicely.

This is an issue I go 'round and 'round with Jennifer Grassman. She writes piano tunes that top the three minute pop mark, and there's nothing wrong with that. If you can come up with a video that can keep someone's attention for a longer length, too, even better!

But you have to remember that watching a video is not listening to a song. Listening can be passive, you do it while driving, cooking, making love. Watching is active, you don't generally read or play video games while watching a movie. So be ready to cut your work down to fit the ADD of the YouTube generation.

You're in good company. Tori Amos did it with "Crucify," and while the song suffers from the loss of some of the best lines the video just wasn't innovative or narrative enough to survive the full-length of the track.