Peg Cheng

Author + Teacher

BLOG

By

Less Writing Leads to Better Writing

facing-right-directionIf we are facing in the right direction, all we have to do is keep on walking.

This Buddhist proverb pretty much sums up my motto for the rest of the year.

After a week of fear, doubt, and self-loathing, I realized I needed to do something drastically different.

I decided to simplify my daily goal.

I also decided to trick my brain a bit.

What do I mean by that?

Well, in terms of simplifying, I’m now just doing 30 minutes of writing per day. Every day. Seven days a week.

30 minutes. Seems like nothing, right?

Exactly.

That’s where the tricking the old brain part comes in.

When I made the goal of writing for up to 3 hours each day, I’d think about those hours and think, wow, that seems like such a long time. Writing is so hard. Do I really want to do it for three hours today?

Maybe I could just sit here and keep reading this book? Maybe I need to wash the dishes? Maybe I need to dust my stuffed animal collection? Maybe I need to send out some more tweets? The excuses and procrastination techniques went on and on.

Because that 3-hour “writing time” sounded like too much work.

When something is hard, and there’s no one requiring you to do it, and there’s no immediate reward, it’s really hard to make myself do that thing. With fear, doubt, and self-loathing breathing down my neck, it’s even harder.

So, I needed to do something regarding my writing that wouldn’t make me want to avoid it. Writing for 30 minutes a day sounds more like a treat to me than work. I needed to “trick” my brain into doing the thing I wanted to do.

How’s it going?

It’s working!

I’ve been writing 30 minutes a day, every day. I even wrote for 40 minutes on one day. Yep. 10 minutes more. I’m allowed that. I’m committed to writing for 30 minutes, but if I want to do more, I can.

And you know what?

I can get a lot done in 30 minutes! I’ve surprised myself this week with the progress I’ve made on my story planning, armature, and three-act structure. Yesterday, I even think I cracked my story’s spine!

Who would guess that doing less work would lead to better work?

I think I’ve always known this (I’ve believed in the 20-hour work week for as long as I can remember) but it’s taken me a long time to realize that it can apply to my writing as well. It’s making me rethink everything about my daily schedule and routine.

What if every task felt more like play and less like work?

My mind reels at the possibilities!

For now, as I wrap my head around this new way of being, I’m just going to keep walking in the right direction. In time, I know I’ll get there.

Peg Cheng is the author of The Contenders, a middle-grade novel centered on the question, can enemies become friends? She is also the founder of Prelaw Guru, a law school application consulting company, and the author of The No B.S. Guides for prelaw students.

By

A Week of Fear, Doubt & Self-loathing

Discover-New-LandsOne doesn’t discover new lands without consenting to lose sight of the shore for a very long time.

— Andre Gide

Andre Gide was right about that. I’m trying to discover this new land of being a full-time writer and I’ve definitely lost sight of the shore.

I feel at sea. I feel woozy. I feel like I’m going to hurl.

The first five weeks of being a full-time writer have been good. Some ups, some downs, but mostly ups. But this last week.

Ooh, this last week.

FEAR stepped in and took the wheel and put the pedal to the metal. Sorry to mix my metaphors, but Fear just drove all over the dang place with me in the back seat, holding on for dear life.

I started looking at job postings online. I updated my resume. I updated my LinkedIn profile. I had a long talk with Marcus about the practicalities of me getting a full-time job.

Suddenly, DOUBT was in the passenger seat, directing Fear where to go. How was I going to make it as an author? I can barely get anything written! And even if I do write, it will take me forever to finish my novel. Could I finish it in a year? Yes. But one novel per year is not going to make me any money. I might as well get a job and write on the weekends and still finish one novel per year. I’ll never make it as a full-time writer at the rate I’m going.

I almost had Marcus convinced.

I almost had myself convinced.

That night, I had one of the worst tossing-and-turning, only two hours of fitful sleep nights ever. When I woke up, I realized that I was being foolish. And ridiculous. And just plain scared.

I was not going to get a job. I was going to stick to my original plan and be a full-time writer for a year and then assess at the end of the year. No matter how awful it got, and how paralyzing the fear, I was going to just feel it and write anyway.

Added to this is my feeling that I’m squandering the privilege of being able to be a full-time writer. That’s when SELF-LOATHING came in (if you’re wondering when that part of the blog title was going to pop up) and sat down next to me. Are you crazy?! There are people who would give their first-born child to have the opportunity that you have! You don’t deserve to be a full-time writer! You don’t deserve to be a writer!

When I stopped hating on myself, I finally realized that a big part of my problem was that my days were not balanced for my personality.

Over time, I’m feeling more and more isolated, purposeless, and useless. When I was working as a law school admissions consultant, 7-8 months of the year I had regular client work, phone calls, and Skype meetings. Not only did this keep me busy, but it also kept my extroverted side happy and I felt I had a purpose. Then, after the busy application season, I’d write like mad during my down time, after my clients had applied to their schools. It’s been this way for five and a half years.

But in the last few weeks, I’ve had just a few client emails per week and perhaps one call every two weeks. Instead, I’ve been doing mostly all introverted stuff: reading, researching, writing, and basically working silently at a computer (I need a quiet space to write). I need to figure out a way to do different activities during the day that balance my extroverted side and my introverted side (I’m near the middle of E and I when it comes to the MBTI), and also my need to be of service to people.

After describing my dilemma, my friend Brenda explained that it’s normal to feel this way since I am an encourager, a teacher, and if I’m suddenly not doing that anymore, it would feel like a loss. She said it’s like when all the kids move out of the house and the mom is left at home with an empty nest. I never thought it that way. I’ve been wanting more time to write for so long. So long! But yes, that’s how it feels. I feel like an empty-nester.

I need to figure out ways every day where I can still encourage and support people because it’s something that I love to do, while still reserving enough time for my writing.

So, lots of revelations this week. Do I feel better?

Yes, for about five minutes. And then I don’t anymore.

I’m still at sea. Still woozy. Still very scared.

Haven’t done hardly any writing in a week.

But I haven’t jumped ship. I’m still sailing. And I still have many miles to go.

Peg Cheng is the author of The Contenders, a middle-grade novel centered on the question, can enemies become friends? She is also the founder of Prelaw Guru, a law school application consulting company, and the author of The No B.S. Guides for prelaw students.