Peg Cheng

Author + Teacher

Peg Cheng

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A Poem for my Pop-in-law

I debated whether I wanted to post the poem I wrote for my pop-in-law Mr. Mark. My husband Marcus read it aloud at his memorial last week because I couldn’t get through it without crying. It seemed like a private thing–something just shared between me and the people at his memorial.

But then today, I thought, “What would Mr. Mark want?”

Not hard to guess. He’d want it posted. Mr. Mark would be thrilled that a poem was written about him.

Then, after logging onto Twitter this morning, I discovered that it’s World Poetry Day. Another push from the universe.

So, here it is.

What Do You Say?

What do you say to a man who is so honest he sometimes shocks you?

You say, I like you

What do you say to a man who always makes room for one more at the table?

You say, I admire you

What do you say to a man who sometimes makes you sad or mad or cry?

You say, I forgive you

What do you say to a man who smiles when he sees you, no matter how bad he feels?

You say, I cherish you

What do you say to a man who loves you with all his heart, and he’s got one great big ol’ heart?

You say, I love you…too

What do you say to a man who left you with so many stories, love, and laughter?

You say, I’ll remember you…always

The photo above is one of my favorite photos of Mr. Mark. It’s from last December, on his birthday, and he’s modeling the leg warmers (Kathy Ireland brand!) that Marcus and I gifted him. This is the way I want to remember him: laughing and making us laugh.

You’ll always be the Man of the Hour, Mr. Mark. I love you. I miss you.

Peg Cheng is the author of The Contenders, a middle-grade novel centered on the question, can enemies become friends? She is currently writing another novel that is a re-imagining of the Snow White fairy tale set in 1980s Seattle. Peg is also a writing coach giving help, encouragement, and feedback to writers from all walks of life.

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Favorite Tools for Writers

Tools by Philip Swinburn

It seems fitting that I’m writing about tools during the time when my pop-in-law, a man who deeply loves his tools, is about to depart from this earth. Mr. Mark was a carpenter, and I’m a writer, but we’re both storytellers.

For the last five weeks, I haven’t had the energy to write much of anything. Add to this that my father was also hospitalized last month for a blood clot, and you can understand why my suspense novel manuscript has been collecting dust.

Some writers find that stress spurs them on to write more. Not me. When I’m worried and anxious, the only things I can do are eat, sleep, clean, watch TV, read, and walk just enough so my muscles don’t atrophy.

So, I haven’t been writing much, but there is something I’ve been working on for months that I think I’m ready to share.

For six months, I’ve been racking my brains and writing and rewriting descriptions of my favorite writing, creative living, and business tools. I added some on and took others off until I had narrowed the list down. All these tools are ones that I’ve personally used, tested, and highly recommend. The list will likely change over time, but for now, I feel good about sharing them with you.

Here they are: my FAVORITE TOOLS for better writing and creative living. I hope these will be helpful to you, and may some of them even bring a smile to your face (like Mr. Mark did for me for nine years).

Peg Cheng is the author of The Contenders, a middle-grade novel that asks, can enemies become friends? She is currently writing another novel that is a re-imagining of the Snow White fairy tale set in 1980s Seattle. Peg is also a writing teacher giving help and encouragement to writers from all walks of life.

Photo of tools by Philip Swinburn.

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Giving Advice to my 15-year-old Self

Sandra Evans signs “This is Not a Werewolf Story” for me at the University Bookstore, Nov 2016.

I’ve been a professional adviser for the last 16 years but it isn’t very often that I’m asked to give advice to my 15-year-old self.

But that’s exactly what my friend, the amazing author Sandra Evans, asked me to do this month.

I met Sandy through our mutual friend Tamiko Nimura, a terrific writer and connector. When Tamiko introduced us over email, I immediately bought a copy of Sandy’s debut middle-grade novel, This Is Not a Werewolf Story. After reading this beautiful, magical, yet also realistic story, I knew I had to meet her.

I’m always a little unsure when I meet a fellow writer–will they be as cool as their writing? Or shy? Or morose? Or not like their writing at all? Lucky for me, Sandy was just as fun, whimsical, and fascinating as her novel, and we had a great time talking about writing, the writing life, and everything else under the sun.

So, when Sandy decided to start a series of interviews with authors and creatives on her blog and asked me to be the first interview, I agreed.

It was both hard and easy to think back and remember my younger self and what she thought about certain things. And though some of the memories made me sad, some also made me smile, and in the end, taking this walk down memory lane was very gratifying.

So, here’s our interview.

Hope you enjoy it. If you do, please post your comments below. Thank you.

Peg Cheng is the author of The Contenders, a middle-grade novel centered on the question, can enemies become friends? She is currently writing another novel that is a re-imagining of the Snow White fairy tale set in 1980s Seattle. Peg is also a writing coach giving help, encouragement, and feedback to writers from all walks of life.

Photo of Sandra Evans & Peg Cheng by Marcus Donner.

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Come to My Writers Retreat!

I’m hosting my very first Writers Wellness Retreat on Sunday, March 12th! I’m excited about this retreat because it’s exactly the kind of event that I would have loved to go to when I was writing full time last year and feeling isolated and depressed.

Writing can be such a lonely and scary pursuit.

For a while, I thought I was the only one that felt this way.

Then, I started reading books on the craft of writing and creating art, and I discovered that almost every writer and artist feels lonely, scared, depressed, doubtful and/or anxious at one time or another, and some even feel this way every day. Knowing this, I wanted to create a retreat that would bring together writers who want to practice self-care in order to gain greater creativity and productivity.

I call the retreat a day of mindfulness, movement & expression because it combines three key things that help me with my own writing: meditation, qigong, and freewriting.

I’m leading the sections on meditation and guided freewriting, and my qigong and tai chi teacher, the amazing Kim Ivy, founder of Embrace the Moon, is teaching the section on qigong.

It’s going to be a fun day filled with stories, compassion, and camaraderie. I hope you’ll join us!

Also, if you do attend, as a bonus gift to you, I will personally check in with you a week after the retreat to see how you’re doing with your writing and self-care practice, and whether you need any other resources or support.

Don’t wait. I’m capping the retreat at 10 participants. So, REGISTER TODAY and invite all your writing friends to join you!

WRITERS WELLNESS RETREAT

Sunday, March 12, 2017

10:00 AM – 4:00 PM

Embrace the Moon, 1716 NW Market Street, Seattle, WA 98107

Registration is now CLOSED.

Peg Cheng is the author of The Contenders, a middle-grade novel centered on the question, can enemies become friends? She is currently writing another novel that is a re-imagining of the Snow White fairy tale set in 1980s Seattle. Peg is also a writing coach giving help, encouragement, and feedback to writers from all walks of life.

 

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Writing Goals for 2017

Rooster by Natsuki Otani

Last year, it seemed right to set my writing goals on the first day of the Chinese New Year, Year of the Monkey. This year, it seems right to set my new writing goals for 2017 on the day that Year of the Monkey turns into Year of the Rooster.

Thank God we’re leaving the monkey year.

Last year I wrote, “this year has the potential to be filled with lots of activity, movement, big strides, being inventive, and making things happen.” Oh boy. It had that potential. It sure did. But for me, 2016 was also filled with depression, many moments of despair, and ongoing PTSD (Post- Trump Stress Disorder).

Because of that, it feels really good to start a new lunar year. No matter how badly a year goes, I always feel hopeful about starting a new year. Call it naivete, call it habit, call it what you will. In these strange times of massive upheaval, I will take any sliver of hope that I can get.

Before I launch into my goals for 2017, let’s look at how I did with my goals for 2016.

Goal #1: Write (outline, strategize, revise, edit) for 2-3 hours a day, five days a week.
I didn’t achieve this for a long time. I did try writing five days a week. But did I write for 2-3 hours a day? Not by a long shot. As I describe in this post, some days I could only gear myself up to write for 30 minutes. And that was fine. It was better than fine, it worked. It got me writing on a regular basis. After about six months, I had moved up to 90 minutes to two hours a day. It took a while, but I got there. In light of that, I consider this a win. {High five}

Goal #2: Write one blog post per week, 48 weeks of the year.
I wrote 41 posts last year, not 48, but I’m still counting this as a win. {Patting myself on the back}

Goal #3: Write and publish my adult suspense novel, SEVEN DUDES DOC AND THE SEVEN.
I didn’t achieve this, but I did finish the first draft. I thought it would take three months to write (ha!), but it ended up taking nine months (three times as long seems to be the right way to set any goal deadline). Still, I consider it a massive accomplishment to finish the first draft of a 50,000+ word novel. So, I’m counting this as a win too. {Fist pump}

Goal #4: Write and publish my prelaw book, THE PRELAW GURU GUIDE TO APPLYING TO LAW SCHOOL.
Nope. Didn’t do this. I had all intentions to do this after writing my suspense novel but once I immersed myself into the world of fiction, I didn’t want to leave it. Also, I closed my Prelaw Guru business in July. So, this goal is now nixed for now…and forever.

Goal #5: Write and publish my personal finance book for college students.
WOW. Did I really think I was going to write, edit, and publish THREE BOOKS in one year?! When I look back at this list of goals, it just seems insane. But at the time, it seemed like a great idea–just like the Year of the Monkey seemed to be full of promise and excitement. Like my prelaw guide, this book is now on the back burner. And I don’t know if it will ever come off the back burner.

All in all, 2016 was a mixed bag in terms of achieving my goals. I’m so glad I learned to write regularly 5 or more days a week, and I’m incredibly proud of myself for writing 41 blogs posts and the first draft of my first adult novel. I didn’t achieve my goal of writing and publishing three books, but I’m okay with that.

So, what’s up for 2017? What wild, reach-for-the-moon goals am I setting for the Year of the Rooster?

Well, I’m doing something different this year.

I’m not setting any goals.

That’s right. Your hearing isn’t faulty. I’m not setting any writing goals for 2017.

I know what I want to do. I want to keep working on my novel, and I want to make it the best novel that I can possibly make it. When it’s ready, I will publish it. I hope it’s in 2017, but I don’t know if it will be.

Right now, with all the crazy stuff that’s happening in the nation, it’s enough for me to get out of bed, write, coach other writers, love the good people in my life, resist and protest the s**t I disagree with, and keep going. That’s all. For once in my life, I don’t feel the need to set any goals around that.

So, with that, I leave you with the greeting that my family always gives each other on Chinese New Year: Gong Xi Fa Cai! No matter where you are, I wish you prosperity and good fortune in the new year!

Peg Cheng is the author of The Contenders, a middle-grade novel centered on the question, can enemies become friends? She is currently writing another novel that is a re-imagining of the Snow White fairy tale set in 1980s Seattle. Peg is also a writing coach giving help, encouragement, and feedback to writers from all walks of life.

Art by Natsuki Otani.