Peg Cheng

Author + Teacher

Peg Cheng

By

Why I Decided to Become a Writing Coach

The year I achieved my dream of being a full-time writer was also the year when I felt the most lonely, fearful, and depressed.

But before we go there, let me tell you how this past year was great.

I love being creative. This past year, I got to be creative every day and write full time. I have never had that chance ever in my life. So 2016 was monumental simply because of that. But, this was also the year that I wrote my first adult novel, a suspense novel inspired by Snow White that’s been marinating in my psyche for the past eleven years.

This novel was my most complicated and challenging writing endeavor yet. It features three different points-of-view and nine key characters, and delves into domestic violence, PTSD, friendship, love, and the care of bonsai trees. Writing this story was hard, tiring, and emotionally draining. But I finished the first draft and I’m proud of myself.

But despite reaching my major goal for 2016, I was not happy. In fact, most days, I struggled with loneliness, fear, and depression.

For months, I thought it was because the material I was writing was dark and emotionally difficult. But as the months went on, I realized it was more than that. I realized that one of the big reasons 2016 was so personally difficult for me was because I was working against my nature.

You see, I don’t just love being creative, I also love being of service to people.

Being of service to people and helping them achieve their goals is something I’ve been doing for close to 20 years. It was through the course of this year that I realized I didn’t just help other people achieve their goals because I liked it, was good at it, and got paid for it; I also did it because it is something that is intrinsic to my nature. Being of service is part of my core being.

This led me to have an existential crisis last month.

I knew I couldn’t go on being a full-time writer at home, leading a creative yet solitary, lonely, and depressed daily existence.

At the same time, I had a difficult time imagining myself back at a job.

I have nothing against jobs (I’ve had 35 of them), it’s just that I know from experience that if I got a full-time job, I would be so dedicated to it that my writing would suffer terribly or even cease to exist. That’s just the way I am. And good part-time jobs that fit my skills and experience are hard to come by.

That day in December, I cried and cried. I’ve cried many times this year but this time, I also felt defeated. I told my husband Marcus about it that evening and he felt bad for me. I went to bed thinking I needed to give up my dream of being a writer so I could preserve my mental and emotional health by finding a job where I could be of service to others.

The next morning, I woke up and did my usual routine. And I meditated, as I usually do. That’s when it hit me.

What’s the one thing I most want to help people with, right now?

Writing.

I thought, I’ve already been helping people with their writing and with achieving their goals for nearly 20 years.

Why couldn’t I do that again?

But as a business, not as a job?

It was right there before me.

I wanted to be a Writing Coach.

After a lifetime of writing, and helping others write, I’ve realized that we all write better and stronger when we receive encouragement and constructive feedback.

That’s what I want to do–give people the help, encouragement, and feedback they need to write better and to keep writing.

In 2017, I’m going to be a writer and a Writing Coach.

The irony of this is I don’t think I would have discovered this path had I not gone through this pivotal year of being creative but also being lonely, fearful, and depressed. I needed to go through this year to see what it was really like to be a full-time writer with all its peaks, valleys, and plateaus.

Now that I’m here, I’m grateful for this year. I’m grateful I’ve reached this fork in the road and I don’t need to pick either path.

I can forge my own path.

I hope my story has given you some inspiration as you forge your own path in 2017 and beyond. Please know that if you need some help along the way, I’m here for you.

October 2017 UPDATE: I closed my writing coaching practice on October 31, 2017. Click here and here to read why.

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.

By

Books I Read in 2016 (and My Top 11)

reading-books-friendsTo me, reading is as essential as breathing, eating, and sleeping. If I didn’t do it, I’d be miserable.

What disturbs me is that I spent years reading what I was required to read, and hardly any time reading what I wanted to read.

I read for pleasure from age five to eighteen, but after I started college, my pleasure reading dropped like an anvil from a cliff. From about age 18 until my early 30s, I read mostly textbooks, books, newspapers, case studies, and articles related to my studies and work, but hardly any marvelous novels or great works of non-fiction. I’m extremely bummed that I will never get that time back to read. And I have no one to blame but myself.

To make up for lost time, this first year of being a full-time writer has also been my year of being a full-time reader. Here are the 67 books I read in 2016. They are listed in the order in which I read them.

I decided to challenge myself and pick the Top 11 Books (I tried to pick ten but it was too hard) that I really enjoyed and/or changed me for the better. These books are in bold. While I enjoyed many of the books I read this year, these eleven hold a special place in my heart, and I highly recommend them.

  1. Better Than Before by Gretchen Rubin
  2. Cracked Pomegranate by Fae Bidgoli
  3. Swimming in the American: A Memoir and Selected Writings by Hiroshi Kashiwagi
  4. Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman’s Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia by Elizabeth Gilbert
  5. Blood, Bones & Butter by Gabrielle Hamilton
  6. Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert
  7. Writing the Heart of Your Story: The Secret to Crafting an Unforgettable Novel by C.S. Lakin
  8. 30-Day Author: Develop a Daily Writing Habit and Write Your Book in 30 Days by Kevin Tumlinson
  9. Creepy Carrots by Aaron Reynolds and Peter Brown
  10. Kaline Klattermaster’s Tree House by Haven Kimmel
  11. Secret Coders by Gene Luen Yang and Mike Holmes
  12. Cartwheeling in Thunderstorms by Katherine Rundell
  13. The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
  14. I’d Know You Anywhere by Laura Lippman
  15. Rules by Cynthia Lord
  16. The Walls Around Us by Nova Ren Suma
  17. The Xenophobe’s Guide to the Icelanders by Richard Sale
  18. Humans of New York Stories by Brandon Stanton
  19. Post-Dated: The Schooling of an Irreverent Bonsai Monk by Michael Hagedorn
  20. Little Kunoichi: The Ninja Girl by Sanae Ishida
  21. Sewing Happiness: A Year of Simple Projects for Living Well by Sanae Ishida
  22. Figgs & Phantoms by Ellen Raskin *
  23. As I Knew Him: My Dad, Rod Serling by Anne Serling
  24. Invisible Ink by Brian McDonald *
  25. The Art of Slow Writing: Reflections on Time, Craft, and Creativity by Louise DeSalvo
  26. Rooftoppers by Katherine Rundell
  27. Dani Noir by Nova Ren Suma
  28. Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz
  29. This One Summer by Mariko Tamaki and Jillian Tamaki
  30. The Good Times Are Killing Me by Lynda Barry
  31. The Face: A Time Code by Ruth Ozeki
  32. Marbles: Mania, Depression, Michelangelo and Me: A Graphic Memoir by Ellen Forney
  33. Cruddy by Lynda Barry
  34. At a Crossroads: Between a Rock and My Parents’ Place by Kate T. Williamson
  35. My Town by David Lee
  36. The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye by Sonny Liew
  37. Porcelain by Moby
  38. The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton
  39. I Will Teach You to Be Rich by Ramit Sethi
  40. Involuntary Turnover by Cheri Baker
  41. Monstress by Marjorie Liu & Sana Takeda
  42. Rock Paper Tiger by Lisa Brackmann
  43. Matthew Looney’s Voyage to the Earth by Jerome Beatty *
  44. Art & Fear by David Bayles & Ted Orland
  45. Writer’s Doubt: The #1 Enemy of Writing (and What You Can Do About It) by Bryan Hutchinson
  46. Ramona Quimby, Age 8 by Beverly Cleary *
  47. Clementine by Sara Pennypacker *
  48. Roller Girl by Victoria Jamieson
  49. Anya’s Ghost by Vera Brosgol
  50. Amulet, Book One: The Stonekeeper by Kazu Kibuishi
  51. Amulet, Book Two: The Stonekeeper’s Curse by Kazu Kibuishi
  52. How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big by Scott Adams
  53. Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng
  54. Wool by Hugh Howey
  55. This is Not a Werewolf Story by Sandra Evans
  56. A Little Yellow Dog by Walter Mosley
  57. Double Cup Love: On the Trail of Family, Food, and Broken Hearts in China by Eddie Huang
  58. The Underneath by Kathi Appelt
  59. Guyku: A Year of Haiku for Boys by Bob Raczka
  60. Raymie Nightingale by Kate DiCamillo
  61. Planet Middle School by Nikki Grimes
  62. Zek: An American Prison Story by Arthur Longworth
  63. The INFJ Writer by Lauren Sapala
  64. Robot Dreams by Sara Varon
  65. Friends With Boys by Faith Erin Hicks
  66. Medium Raw: A Bloody Valentine to the World of Food and the People Who Cook by Anthony Bourdain
  67. The Education of Kevin Powell: A Boy’s Journey into Manhood by Kevin Powell

* indicates that I read this book in a previous year and read it again this year

Hope this list gives you good ideas for books to read in 2017. And if you’ve read any of these already, please let me know what you thought of them in the comments box. Happy New Year and happy reading!

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.

By

All About Armature

For the past ten months, I’ve been struggling with the armature of my suspense novel, SEVEN DUDES DOC AND THE SEVEN. Before I tell you about my struggles, let’s define armature. And since I can’t say it any better than my friend and teacher, Brian McDonald, I’m going to let him tell you what it is.

…the armature is the idea upon which we hang our story…It is what you want to say with your piece…the armature is your point. Your story is sculpted around this point.
— Brian McDonald

I like to think of the armature as the “spine” or “skeleton” of my story. My characters and plot are the flesh, but they’re held together by the armature.

Some people call the armature the “moral of the story.” But it’s not always a “moral” per se. Like Brian said, it’s the point you want to make. Also, it’s a sentence, not a word.

Brian explains armature very well in his book, Invisible Ink: A Practical Guide to Building Stories that Resonate. It’s my favorite book on writing. I highly recommend you read it to learn more about armature, and to understand the key principals for building great stories.

In his book, Brian gives great examples of armatures in popular movies. Let’s look at an example of an armature in a movie you’ve probably seen more than once: The Wizard of Oz. In The Wizard of Oz, many people think the armature is, “There’s no place like home.” That’s what Dorothy keeps saying in the movie. But is it really the main point of the story? I never thought so. It never felt quite right. It wasn’t until I read Invisible Ink that I figured it out. The more accurate armature for The Wizard of Oz is: “You may already have what you are looking for.”

Look how this point is dramatized throughout the movie with each of the key characters: Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, and the Cowardly Lion. For example, the Scarecrow is looking for brains but he is the one that comes up with a plan or solution whenever one is needed. It happens over and over. He already has what he’s looking for. Watch the movie again. I think you’ll be amazed, just as I was, at the incredible amounts of invisible ink written into the story to prove the armature.

Which brings me to why I’m struggling.

Armature cannot just be inserted at the beginning and at the end of the story. It has to be woven into, and proven throughout, the whole story. That means, in every scene, you have to ask yourself, how am I proving or not proving the armature here?

Sound easy?

It’s not.

It took me months to figure out the armature for SEVEN DUDES DOC AND THE SEVEN before I started writing. I brainstormed armatures that seemed to go with my story, but none of them felt quite right. Finally, I chose the one that kept popping up for me and started writing. Nine months later, I finished my first draft but could tell before it was over that my story didn’t prove the armature. The armature I had chosen wasn’t right for my story.

Disappointed, but not beaten, I thought, that’s okay, I’ll write the second draft with a new armature. After spending weeks rewriting the first act, I knew I still didn’t have it. The new armature wasn’t right either.

Just last week, I changed the armature again. I think I have it this time. It seems so obvious now. I don’t know why I didn’t see it before.

So, now, I’m starting over on page one. I’m rewriting every chapter to prove the armature. If the chapter no longer works with the new armature, it’s out. And then I’ll write a new one. I already know there’s a ton of chapters that have to be completely written from scratch. This process is extremely hard and nerve-wracking, but I know it’s the right path.

I want my story to sing. I want it to be one that stays with you for days, weeks, years, and is something you will want to read more than once. I know my story won’t do that if it has no armature. All great stories have an armature that is proven throughout, from beginning to end.

Instead of rushing myself on a timeline that only makes sense to me and my anxious nature to get things done, I’m going to take time with this and make sure that every single scene makes sense to the story and proves the armature.

It’s going to be some deep diving for the next few months. Wish me luck!

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.

By

Faith, Not Hope

Art by Sveta Dorosheva

I looked up the definitions for HOPE and FAITH today.

The first definition that came up for HOPE was: the feeling that what is wanted can be had or that events will turn out for the best.

The first example it gave was: to give up hope.

Funny, because that is what I’m writing about today.

You see, I’ve given up hope.

I’ve given up hope that our nation will be fine.

I’ve given up hope that our citizens will be okay.

I’ve given up hope that the people in charge will do the right thing.

I no longer have hope because so much of hope is based on what other people do.

I prefer not to go there.

Don’t worry–I’m not giving up hope so I can bury myself in the sand and forget about life.

No, I prefer to focus on what I can do.

Me. One person. One miniscule dot in the universe.

I’m not burying myself in the sand because I do not expect anyone to shovel me out.

That’s my job.

And my shovel’s name is FAITH.

You’re probably wondering, what’s the difference between hope and faith?

Well, let’s go to the dictionary.

According to the first definition that I looked up, FAITH is: allegiance to duty or a person; loyalty; fidelity to one’s promises; sincerity of intentions.

You see, it’s very different from hope.

Do I believe in allegiance to duty? And loyalty? And fidelity to one’s promises? And sincerity of intentions?

Yes. Yes. Yes. And YES.

I have faith.

I have faith that I am always doing my best, whether on horrible, terrible days, and on delightful, beautiful days.

I have faith in the universe, and in all that I can see and hear, and all that I cannot see and hear.

I have allegiance to myself, loyalty to those I love and respect, fidelity to my promises, and sincerity of intentions.

I have faith.

And it’s not because I believe in God. Because I do. But, I don’t equate faith with my belief in God.

I don’t label God. I don’t purport to articulate or understand what God is doing to us or not doing to us, or if God wants me to do this or does not want me to do that. Faith, for me, is not about God.

There are a lot of things that I don’t know, but what I do know is that someday, my time on this earth will come to an end. No one can argue against that–not even people who believe they have a direct phone line to God. But until that fateful day comes, I will read, write, think, dream, ponder, act, love, and live.

I will do my best, even when my best is just getting out of bed.

I will do my best to help other living beings.

I will do my best to help myself.

I will keep going.

I will keep going, and perhaps someday, hope will return to me.

But I’ve realized something important.

It’s okay if hope doesn’t return.

Because I still have faith.

And that is enough.

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 also believes in equality for all people and continues to fight the good fight.

Art by Sveta Dorosheva.

By

Fear, Art & Undoing Racism

topsy-turvy-world
Art by Sveta Dorosheva

Leave it up to Sveta Dorosheva to once again capture what’s happening in my psyche. This illustration is called Topsy Turvy World. It personifies how I’m feeling right now about the Trump presidency and the palpable fear I have that the laws of our country will soon convert into a living nightmare for myself and so many people I care about.

I’m going to come back to that. But first, I want to talk about NaNoWriMo.

NaNoWriMo has been an utter failure for me this month. I realized pretty quickly that I couldn’t write the sequel to THE CONTENDERS while taking a break from my novel, SEVEN DUDES DOC AND THE SEVEN. I thought I could, but I can’t.

I can’t do this because I like closure. I’m an ENFJ and I really like finishing. Writing a first draft is not closure to me–it’s a beginning, an opening to something much bigger.

So, I have to continue. I feel compelled to continue. I need to continue writing SEVEN DUDES DOC AND THE SEVEN until it’s ready to be submitted to my beta readers. Then, and only then, when my draft is as good as I can get it by working on my own, can I even begin to start thinking about working on a new novel.

On a happier note to this dreadful week, I am looking forward to reacting to the first draft rather than having to face the blank page and make everything up from scratch. It’s one hundred times easier to rewrite a draft than it is to write the first draft. Other writers might feel the opposite, but for me, rewriting is where it’s at.

I begin the second draft today. I think taking time every day to work on my story will be a welcome respite from reality. With the Trump presidency looming, I need to immerse myself in making art. It’s one of the only things keeping me afloat right now. Art will heal me. Art will save me. It always has.

The other thing that has saved me time and time again are good people. I give deep thanks to my husband Marcus and my friend Brian for helping me grieve and process the horrors of this week.

I also want to thank my friend John. John is a straight, white male in his 40s who grew up in rural America. This is what he posted on Facebook after the election, taking the risk that he might lose friends and colleagues by doing so.

johnd-post-electionIt’s actions like this that give me hope for a better tomorrow.

We need more white people like my friend John to stand up and call other white people out for their racism and/or their complicity in supporting racist leaders and policies.

We need more white people to take responsibility for supporting and benefiting from white privilege and institutional racism.

We need more white people to educate other white people about racism.

People of color can’t do it alone. We have tried for a very long time. (Plus, we have enough work in eradicating the bigotry in our own communities.)

As I learned through the Undoing Institutional Racism workshops by The People’s Institute Northwest for Survival and Beyond (amazing, educational, life-changing experiences that I highly, highly recommend!), the minority cannot by itself successfully educate the majority on racism.

Members of the majority must step up to educate their peers.

It is through an alliance of majority and minority people working together to undo racism that it can actually be undone.

That is my hope for the future.

In the meantime, I continue to make art to share with the world. I continue to help people. I continue to spread love. I continue.

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 also believes in equality for all people and continues to fight the good fight.

Art by Sveta Dorosheva.