I am what you'd call a "hobby" songwriter myself and find that an important thing is to have an 'honest' critic on hand to help - whether it be a family member, fellow musician or just friend. In my case it is my wife who pulls me up on things not working. I don't always agree with her critique but I do always listen and take note - and in hindsight she is more often than not correct. I wouldn't want the club members on a Friday night being the first people to hear the song as in general they are supportive and nice people so tend not to be too critical - certainly not openly. It is more easy to tell if one goes down really well than the other way about.

I feel the 'rules' in how to be a good songwriter may be important to take into consideration but are also there to be broken. Someone mentioned in the thread that there should be a good variation between verse and chorus. However my song that goes down best at the club and has become a regular play for me has no variation between verse and chorus. Basically the chorus is just the first verse which gets repeated between all the other verses. Apart from tinkering slightly the entire song was made up just singing whilst enjoying a bath. Hence it is simple which can sometimes be the trick. I've had people who think it is traditional tell me they like it which was a nice feeling - as people don't tend to say to your face "I don't like that".