archie’s 2020 advice for writers

And now we welcome the new year,
full of things that have never been.

Rainer Maria Rilke

Greetings!

I will keep this short & sweet because the new year is nearly upon us.

There are a gazillion and one different things happening out there, offline and online.
Some of it is fascinating, some of it is terrible, and lots of it is rubbish.
Yet all of it is doing one thing: trying to distract you.
Even me with this blog is distracting.

Distracting from what?
Well, distracting you from becoming the person you aspire to become.

As people, and more specifically as artists, it is so easy to believe some stranger has insights that can improve your life and improve your craft.

Believe it or not, everything you’ve been seeking to “fix” your life is either:
a) not really going to fix anything, or
b) change some things, thereby creating new problems in need of fixing, or
c) already within you.

It is a scary powerful idea to consider that you already have everything you need, that you are already everything you need, that you are your own barrier to giving the world more of yourself.
It is terrifying because that means you don’t need to wait any longer to begin.
To begin writing.
To begin reading.
To begin forgiving.
To begin loving.
To begin living.

The true challenge of any artist (especially in this information age) is to trust.
Trust your own vision of what you are creating.
Trust your own capabilities are good enough.
Trust your own voice to show you the way.

It’s not easy to do this, but there is a way to make it easier…

Which is to say, you will have a tough time recognizing your own voice through all the ruckus of the wide world and wider world web.
So my advice to writers in 2020 is:
unplug, unsubscribe, unfollow, uninstall, un-whatever.
I’m doing just that with much of my life.
Join me!
Stop filling your days and your nights and your head with the ideas of others.
Start devoting more time to quiet, to daydreaming, to silence.
You will soon become reacquainted with yourself and everything you have to offer.

You might be surprised to learn what you have to say…

Happy twenty-twenty!