The Big Picture

It’s a good idea to take the big picture into account and plan in advance how each song on an album is going to be different. You can always change things later if they don't work out, but having variety planned in from the beginning will probably benefit most people.

Tempo
Studies were done on the qualities of popular tempos and the results said that the "existence" region of tempos for musical compositions is between 40 and 300 beats per minute (bpm). The “reasonable” range is between 35 and 130 bpm for a human percussionist.

The "optimum" range for listeners and performers is between 81 and 162 bpm which corresponds with the range of different people's walking speeds. 2/3ds of all music is in this range. More specifically, over 120 bpm is the "preferred" range for most listeners and performers. Songs over and around 120 bpm are more often performed and listened to. The absolute “peak of preference” is 125 beats per minute.

Radio
The data says for music on the radio, the mean is 116.4 bpm. The median is 117.9 bpm. The mode is 123 bpm. And 81% of music on the radio is between 81 and 162bpm. This is good information to have if you shooting for airplay of your music.

When planning an album make each tune have a different tempo
88
94
106
112
120
122
124
126
128
140
154
162
Also, if an instrument is featured in the A section then in the next 10 songs it won't be there again. So, if one tune goes; wooden xylophone, flute, zither then the next tune might go piano, zither, flute

Another thing to do is vary the compositional technique between sections.

If the A section is using the wooden xylophone’s idiomatic compositional technique whether or not a wooden xylophone is actually playing it, then the A section won't feature that on the next tune. It will use something else.

For arguments sake, you could define the parameters of your next album by saying the first tune will be in C major, the second tune will be in Db dorian, the third tune will be in D mixolydian, the fourth tune will be in Eb aeolian and the fifth tune will be in E minor pentatonic etc...

Then decide on variations in the form. For example, IVCVCBCO, IVCVCBCO, IVRCVRCBRCO, IVCVRCBRCO, IVCVCBRCO, IVCTVCTBCO, IVCVCTBCO, IVCTVCBCO, I=intro, V-verse, C-chorus, R-rise, B-bridge, T-transition, O-outro

Then make a chart and plan variations in each section of the music, perhaps the first tune can have two 4 measure phrases in both the verse and chorus, then don't do that again on the rest of the album. Have an 8 measure phrase followed by another 8 measure phrase, have an 8 measure phrase followed by a 4 measure phrase, have a four measure phrase followed by 2 two measure phrase in one section and two four measure phrases in the second one, or a four measure phrase followed by a 3 measure phrase or a 5 measure phrase even. If something doesn't work then just fall back on the tried and true 8 or 16 bar sections divided in half.

If you're running out of ideas is when you might want to start both the verse and chorus on the same pitch in one song and start the verse and chorus on the same rhythmic position in another song. (I don't recommend doing both but it might work for a special song.) Or switch things up by having the verse start on the downbeat

Anything is possible really but like my art teacher used to say, it's better to know what the "rules" are so you can know why you're breaking them. (Variety is a good reason I think)

Another thing to try is plan to start on a different chord in each song's chorus. If, as an example, all of your songs are in C Major then start the chorus in the first song on a D minor chord, in the second song on an E minor chord, in the third song on a G Major chord, in the fourth song on an A minor chord and the fifth song on a C Major chord. Even if you don't keep any of these ideas, it gives something to shoot for and starts people composing, which may lead to new and better ideas.

The last chord of the verse sections should normally have subdominant function. Taking the example of a verse starting in C Major then its last chord could be F Major but other chords can serve as substitutes for subdominant function. The second chord D minor also has subdominant function although somewhat weaker but will work anyway.

You just don't want to end on the I chord or the V chord in the verse unless you know how to treat them, such as placing the IM7 chord in 3rd inversion weakening its tonic function. Now you have the first and the last chords of the verse and the first chord of the chorus. Often the chorus ends on the I chord but you can also use another chord that can substitute for the tonic function such as the iii chord. Following these "rules" for harmony will help avoid wandering chord progressions.

In the audio version of this course is my song Ruky’s Dream which illustrates the verse melody starting before the down beat and the chorus melody starting on the downbeat. It also illustrates the use of chords with subdominant function in the endings of the verse and the endings of the bridge. However, the tune is in a minor key not in a major key.

One of the issues is that melodies don't exist in a vacuum. The melodies from one phrase or section need to cooperate with other melodies from another area of the tune. The Beatles were experts at this. They would say if the chorus doesn't have any chromaticism then the verse will: either in the melody or in the chord progression or both. Another way to do that is if there is chromaticism in the verse’s melody then there won't be chromaticism in the chorus' melody but can be in the chorus' harmony in order to change things up. This is particularly good advice for Heavy Metal and alternative rock artists.

The same idea applies to the melodic rhythm. One section can have some syncopation, while the other is more flat footed. Or if the melody is flat footed then the accompaniment is syncopated and vice versa.

Also the first phrase within a section can be syncopated while the second phrase is flat footed. Cuban and African music even take it down to the level of one or two measures, where the first measure of the Clave is syncopated and the second measure is on the beat.

Some Thoughts
If you’re trying to emulate a certain artist or group, it's definitely a good idea to listen to them closely and try to hear what they're doing concerning all of these points. The musical elements are just like Tinker Toys or Legos. There's an infinite number of ways to fit the pieces together. The basic song forms help us a lot to narrow down the possibilities into a manageable quantity but still leave room for creativity and originality.