2020 may feel like the biggest year so far, and whilst it feels like a year has already passed (don’t you think?), it’s not over yet! But you still have plenty of opportunity to make 2020 an amazing year for you. It’s up to you.

I’ve been using my “at home” time each week to share some ways to overcoming the biggest barriers in your songwriting career through my blogs and on socials – Instagram & Facebook. If you’ve been taking advantage of those tips and putting them into action, maybe you’re starting to see some differences in your songwriting. Is that true for you?

Maybe you have seen the past few months as an opportunity to grow, to learn new skills and to finish your songs or an album you’ve been wanting to write… or maybe not. I know that for some people, the last few months have been really tough – to write songs and stay on the path to their wildest creative dreams with lack of gigs and opportunities to perform has been a challenge.

That’s why I’ve been sharing my tips. I know how much you want that album or song project finished, but there are really big barriers. Right?

There has been so much noise and distraction this year. So go back. Remember, what did you dream to achieve in 2020? What do you want to accomplish as a songwriter? What is your wildest creative dream? Take a moment for yourself, be still and reset your goals.

2020 may feel like the biggest year so far, and whilst it feels like a year has already passed (don’t you think?), it’s not over yet! But you still have plenty of opportunity to make 2020 an amazing year for you. It’s up to you.

What do you want to remember 2020 for?

For me, I had a vision that 2020 would be the year I got my first electric guitar! Just last month I thought it was almost the end of the year and I hadn’t done anything about it. Then I realised it wasn’t ?? and I still had time.

I took a moment out and simply reset my goals. Yes, that’s right. That’s what I wanted for myself in 2020. I was writing the songs each week – some that I knew would sound awesome on an electric. It was time to go electric guitar researching.

I was nervous. I would have to be a beginner again. And it’s not always been a positive experience buying gear. But I was committed. I did some googling and found a store called Signal Chain. A small Aussie owned boutique store, which really fit my values.

I walked in and said: “I’ve only played electric once before but I want to buy one!”

I had the most wonderful experience being shown the ropes of the electric guitar world. I had one of the staff sit with me the whole time and help me … wait for it… pull tones. I said it, pull tones. Lol! I even had a go with a glass bottle on my finger. It was magical.

I loved this beautiful Gibson ES-336. She responded just as I wanted her to. Apparently she’s rare. Only 350 made. I made a promise to look after her.

When I went to pick her up a week later, that wonderful staff member had set her up with strings that would suit my random open tunings better and tuned it to open A ready for me to play my newest song creation. And then to top that off, the owner decided to give me an even bigger discount on the current sale price, without me even asking.

The universe really wanted me to have this beautiful guitar.

So here she is (see image above). Me and my first electric guitar. She doesn’t have a name yet… any ideas?

Right now is an amazing opportunity, no matter where you are in your career or your songwriting journey, to take a moment to reflect on what you’ve done up to now this year, and what you want to accomplish this year.

Have you written 1 song, 5 songs, 10 songs? Are you aiming for an album release? Whatever you’ve done so far toward that goal, celebrate that win. Don’t diminish it. Look back and see where you’ve come from to get this far.

The ways that you overcame barriers, the things where you spent a lot of time worrying about something and you have now realised you were actually able to work past that block….

Take a moment to reflect.
Reflection is wisdom.

Look at how you’ve grown, to see what you’ve done and really celebrate that. Celebrate all the little things you have achieved and worked through – they may have felt huge at the time but look at them now!

You will probably come up against barriers in your journey again – maybe barriers of being a beginner again, learning, sucking at something, barriers of self-criticism, barriers of self-doubt, barriers around the feeling of rejection – all those things which are really common barriers that songwriters have to deal with and face. If you have dealt with them recently, reflect on that. The opportunity of reflection is a wonderful chance to ask, “how would I like to do that differently next time?”

If you realise, I wanted to have 20 songs written by now, and I’ve not done anything about it, firstly, unless you have the tools to do that, it’s completely normal to be there. You’re okay. But if you really want to get a handle on those tools, you want some guidance overcoming those blocks so that you can take action so you can have those 20 songs done by the end of 2020, then I can help.

I would love to share with you my Practical Tools for Your Songwriting Success in a free and live 90 mins workshop later this month.

I ran this workshop last month and we had 200 people register!!! Woohoo. But not everyone was able to attend due to their timezone. So…. I’ve heard you and we’re doing 2 LIVE workshops in July so you should be able to find a time that works wherever you are in the world without waking in the middle of the night. (but if you want to stay in your PJs that’s fine!)

ONLINE WORKSHOPS – FREE AND LIVE
July 20, 2020
9.30AM + 6PM AEST (check your timezone)
Book your free place here

These are completely live events. This is not a click here and subscribe and then a countdown button comes on and you really can watch it in 12 minutes (though that will likely happen in the future). As it is for this month, I, Francesca, in human-form, will be coming live and delivering my session from my dining table. And giving you an opportunity to ask you questions and answer them!

I absolutely love supporting songwriters and helping them inspire their ways to be living their wildest creative dreams. Not just thinking about it, but actually doing something about it. If you’d like more tips, please follow my socials, sign up to a workshop (it’s free!) and let me help you become the songwriter you dream to be.

Here’s to an awesome rest of 2020!

Francesca

“Before our duo The Jazzuleles joined Francesca’s Level Up Club I saw myself as an ordinary person with the same talent as everyone else. But in six months I’ve realised that is not true. Now, I see myself as an accomplished songwriter, musician and artist emerging into a career I’ve always wanted.

As a band, we’re delighted with our results. We have twenty new songs, two singles released, four pending releases and an album debut in October 2020. We launched our first music video which got over 6,000 views on Facebook which blew us away. We’re excited about the future and can testify it’s never too late to reach for your star – 100%.” – Shirley-Ann Rowley (The Jazzuleles)

Level Up Club is my mentor program for songwriters who want to take the next step in their career but they don’t know how to do this. If you want to record, build an artist profile, get your music heard online, then send me an email and tell me what you desire to accomplish by the end of 2020 and I’ll be back in touch.

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Francesca at home in Brisbane, Australia. Image by David Kapernick.

“Francesca de Valence is part of the new wave of grass roots pioneers, leading the way through the new and ever changing music industry. In a recent webinar, she gave encouragement, inspiration and a working model for the proactive, self-determining and flexible mindset required to meet the challenges of the current music creation and marketing model. I left feeling empowered to be brave, creative and unique” – Simon Shapiro, Songwriter and Musician.