Operation Melt: Revealing 3 Reasons I Took The Plunge Into Fiction Writing

In Ask Coach Tony, you can put my Operation Melt coaching to the test by asking me questions about how to achieve your goals. 

Because a question asked by one is often a question had by many, I am regularly sharing these answers via the Operation Melt blog.

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I offer you this "dad joke" as a light "amuse-bouche" to entertain your mind before we get serious. My dad joke may be groan-worthy, but it's worth every penny you paid for it, right?

I'd like a job cleaning mirrors. It's something I can really see myself doing!

Revealing 3 Reasons I Took The Plunge Into Fiction Writing

Coach Tony: I started reading your latest book, Seasons of Transformation, and have a question. All your prior books were nonfiction self-improvement books; what made you choose to write fiction? Will you be writing more fiction books?

I have been asked this question many times since I released Seasons of Transformation a few months ago.

Seasons of Transformation is one woman’s story of goals, life coaching, perseverance and unexpected midlife personal transformation. The book follows Kate, a hard-working, high-performer climbing the corporate ladder. After many years with her current company, she finally entered the leadership ranks and was in charge of a team — one that loved and respected her. The job was demanding, but Kate was giving it her all so as not to tarnish her A-Player reputation. Suddenly, Kate learns about the Seasons of Transformation as she unexpectedly encounters a harsh personal winter.

Since releasing the book, I have received tons of feedback, and readers seem to enjoy the story. Most of all, many readers identify with Kate and believe that I created her based on them. This is a wonderful compliment, and I appreciate all feedback — I especially appreciate Amazon reviews.

After many years of writing articles, hundreds of blog posts and three previous books, fiction is a clear departure from my norm. It was very new and far from my comfort zone, but I am glad I did it. Most of all, publishing a fictional story surprised my followers and many people who knew me. To be honest, it was a surprise for me as well; writing a fiction novel wasn’t even on my radar two years ago.

So, why did I take the plunge into the fiction genre? I had three reasons for this new adventure: one practical, one personal, and one aspirational.

My Practical Reason

I am a life and health coach. Those words have a clear meaning for me but not so much for others. Moreover, every life coach has a unique approach to working with clients. It is not easy for prospective life coaching clients to know what to expect when evaluating such a significant investment in themselves.

My practical goal for Seasons of Transformation is to give potential clients a glimpse into my process and what it is like to work with me. Following along with Kate’s experiences with Coach Tony offers readers a preview of how their own coaching journey could feel.

My Aspirational Reason

I am an avid reader and writer of self-improvement nonfiction content (articles, social media, blogs and books). Unfortunately, I have abandoned as many self-improvement books as I have read. I start the book, get a few chapters in and simply lose interest.

Here’s a hot take: traditional self-improvement books can be dry and boring.

My aspirational goal for Seasons of Transformation is to lead an industry-wide upgrade for self-improvement content. 

I have presented my readers with an engaging story to follow, complete with character development, symbolism, conflict and inspiration – not to mention a few saucy adult themes. All those fun elements are paired with a bountiful assortment of real-life self-improvement strategies and tools.

The objective of self-improvement content is to help people live their best lives, an objective that’s hard to achieve with dull content. Seasons of Transformation is one step to an industry-wide improvement. While I am far from finished with nonfiction writing, I also want more people to focus on creating compelling stories to share their processes and strategies. 

Can you imagine how much more self-improvement content people would consume if authors shared compelling stories?

My Personal Reason

My personal reason for writing fiction involves my high-achiever brain and the four-letter word that drives me… NEXT.

When I started running during my weight loss, running an organized race was what came next.

When I finished my first few 5k races, a half marathon came next.

When I deadlifted two-hundred-fifty pounds, three hundred pounds came next.

After writing so much nonfiction, writing fiction was what was next.

I have written nonfiction and know how to do that. Fiction was an entirely different animal, and I had no knowledge, skills, or experience. I haven’t written fiction since I was a kid. Learning to write fiction was a logical next step on my roadmap of life experiences.

I didn’t know how to write fiction, but I knew I could do it… everything is figure-outable.

Most importantly, writing Seasons of Transformation was fun. I enjoyed creating a world, characters, and their experiences. Once I started, I was hooked, and I couldn’t put it down. That’s how I wrote a nearly four-hundred-page book (before I trimmed it) in less than a month. I had so much fun writing this book that I expect to write more fiction soon.

What’s the next big step on your roadmap of life experiences? What are those things you want to try but don’t know how to get started? I would be happy to help you create a goal and plan to make it a reality. There’s nothing you can’t do… let’s go!

I believe in you; let me help YOU believe in you!

Meet Coach Tony

My name is Coach Tony, and I am a coach, author and project manager on a mission. I am working to build a world where no goal ever dies of loneliness.

I almost allowed one of my biggest life goals to die without ever being attempted for forty years. My goal almost died, not of failure but of loneliness. But, I took a risk and leveraged a simple, logical process that helped me wildly exceed my goal. 

I transformed my life, and you can do the same with the help of Operation Melt. 

Operation Melt provides engaging, practical content and hands-on coaching to inspire, motivate and equip project managers and other left-brained high-achievers to pursue and accomplish their biggest goals. 

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