Life Zigs and Writing Zags

Aug 3, 2011 by A Guest Article Writer

This Be My Guest Article is by Paula Renaye, Author of The Hardline Self Help Handbook:What Are You Willing to Do to Get What You Really Want?

 
When we look back on our lives and think about how we got to where we are, it is never a straight line. That’s a good thing! It’s the zigs and zags that make us who we are. Whether mine were all necessary is a different matter!

As for my writing career, it’s hard to say exactly when, where and how it all started. Was it when I was old enough to hold my first book? Was it because of my exposure to journalism in high school? Well, that’s certainly the first writing contest I recall winning. Then again, my promising journalism career in college was important too, except that I walked away from all that for “love”—big huge zig-zag.

Of course, there really isn’t a true line in the sand that I stepped over and proclaimed myself a writer. It took a while for me to get in sync with where my heart had always wanted to go.

If I have to pick a point where that inner knowing grabbed me by the throat—kind of literally—and said it was time to get busy, it was when my dad died suddenly in 1991. I did not handle it well, and the turmoil unleashed a lot of things that had been bottled up for many years. And it came bursting out in a really odd way—I started hearing songs in my head.

The lyrics and melodies would just pop in so I started writing them down. After a while, I had a pretty good collection—a couple of local groups even played a few in public venues, which was really fun. But since I was neither a singer nor a musician, I didn’t really know what to do with them—or myself.

I was, however, really enjoying writing again and wanted to do more. So, I found a local writers group and joined in. A couple of people were writing poetry and short stories, but most were writing novels. Well, I thought, I wanted to do that!

I’d read zillions of books and I saw no reason why I couldn’t just whip one out. So I did. Here is the first line of the first book I ever wrote: Still holding the warm gun, Maddie lifted her skirt and ran for the buggy.

Now, seriously, it’s a pretty good line! That book actually won several contests right out of the gate, but never made it to print. My first published novel was Hot Enough to Kill, a humorous mystery that was featured in Redbook. My second, Dead Man Falls, won the 2001 WILLA Literary Award for Best Original Paperback. The third, Turkey Ranch Road Rage, was released last year and I’m working on Killer Moves in all my spare time.
 

 
So, you ask, how did it happen that I went from writing funny mysteries to self help books? Well, if you’d read my fictional tales you wouldn’t need to ask that question!

Actually, after the first book came out, life happened. The second book was already set to be published, but life kept zigging and sagging—and not in a good way. In short, death, divorce and delusion took a toll. And, like many people, I started searching for ways to ease my own pain.

I spent a lot of years feeling like I was just treading water—I knew I needed to do something, but I couldn’t see what or how. I love the movie The Secret, but when I was in that stuck place, the only thing I was capable of manifesting was more pain. I needed a pre-requisite class—I needed the secret before The Secret!

Over the course of about ten years, I started some version of a self-help book at least six different ways, but it just never came together. I knew what I wanted to do—to help people who were in the same boat I was, people who feel stuck and yet were afraid to be un-stuck. I wanted to give people in pain, as I had been, a simple and direct roadmap out of it.

That’s really what The Hardline Self Help Handbook is about. It’s a do-it-yourself short course based on what I learned on my own jagged journey and what I now do with my coaching clients and in my workshops. It’s a step by step guide to help people figure out what they really want in their lives, why they don’t already have it—and how they can.

And while the title of the book let’s you know you’re in for some tough love, and with times as they are today, it’s exactly what a lot of us who have been zigging and sagging need and are ready for. Which is exactly why the subtitles asks: What Are You Willing to Do to Get What You Really Want?

Take the challenge, do what you need to do, make your zigs and zags a little less harsh and start living your joy!
 
 
Paula Renaye is a professional life coach, motivational and empowerment speaker, regression hypnosis practitioner and award-winning author in both fiction and nonfiction. She has been a consultant for 18 years, holds a degree in Financial Planning and is a member of the International Association of Coaches. Her passion is helping people face reality and take personal responsibility for their choices in order to reclaim their own power and live the life they really want. For special book tour bonus materials and a link to purchase the print book at a discount, visit www.hardlineselfhelp.com. The book is also available here at http://www.amazon.com and on Kindle.