My Writing Became a Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

In my previous post, Writing My Way Out of the Darkness, I shared how I was diving back into writing as a means of healing after my husband’s death. I knew I needed to get moving again, make a life for myself, but my Start button didn’t seem to work. After some serious head-scratching, I decided to start freelance writing. At least it would keep me occupied. But one of the first gigs I took on turned out to be the kick-start I was looking for, and more.

I was hired to write a travel guide for CZYK Publishing called Greater Than a Tourist - Winter Garden, Florida, USA. The Greater Than a Tourist series of travel guides is published by CZYK (pronounced check) Publishing. The books are a twist on the usual guidebook because they’re written by locals. It’s a way to discover the hidden gems of an area. As I live in Central Florida, I wrote this one about Winter Garden from a resident’s point of view. How did this help me get moving again? It pushed me out of the house, otherwise known as my comfort zone, and into my new city, where I met some of the most amazing people and learned about those hidden gems for myself.

I met a fellow-writer, a nice museum curator, and made a friend with whom I get coffee now. There was my tour of a vintage hotel—sadly, no ghosts—a charming small-town bookstore, farms to pick fresh fruit, and I have plans to go kayaking in one of Florida’s magnificent crystal-clear natural springs. So, in a way, I wrote about writing and my desire to get motivated, and now, that writing has come to pass—a sort of self-fulfilling prophecy. Who knows what could come next? Maybe I’ll write about winning the lottery.

If you’re visiting Central Florida any time soon and want something off the beaten (touristy) path, you can find Greater Than a Tourist- Winter Garden Florida, USA on Amazon for Kindle and in paperback. There are the 50 tips as mentioned in the title, plus another 10 bonus tips. Who knows? Maybe we’ll meet at one of the hidden gems otherwise missed if using a mass-marketed travel guide.