PEGSVILLE

Peg Cheng: Writer

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Fish & Chips Celebration!

Celebrating with Ivars Fish & Chips!I really wasn’t sure when I launched The Contenders illustrated novel Kickstarter that I’d reach the goal of raising $3000. I was nervous every day. But then we raised $3000…in just eight days. And over the next 13 days, the total kept climbing slowly but surely.

Last Wednesday, when the campaign closed on the 21st day, we surpassed the goal by 21%! We raised a total of $3655! As Eunice, the main character of The Contenders would say, “Hooyeah!”

If we were together right now, I’d treat you to some fish and chips from Ivar’s. We’d high-five then break fries together as we watch the boats sail by on Lake Union.

But since we’re not together, let me just say, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!

The Contenders illustrated edition is going to be published this year because of 64 kind, generous humans that pledged, and many others that posted and tweeted about the campaign. I’m grateful to each and every one of you.

I’m also grateful to my illustrator, Erin Kubo, and my hubs, Marcus Donner, for all their help and support. This was a three-pronged effort and I couldn’t have done it without them.

So what now?

Erin’s creating two more illustrations for the book (yaas!) to bring the total to 20 pictures. I’m working with my editor Julie to finish the interior design. Marcus is working on finalizing the cover design. By early November, the book will be off to the printers. Everyone who pledged for the paperback will receive their book by December. I’ll announce in January how everyone else can buy a copy.

Thanks again for your support. Can’t wait to share The Contenders with you!

Photo by Marcus Donner at Ivar’s Salmon House

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My Soul Whispers…

Writing what my soul whispers...One of my favorite writing prompts is, “My soul whispers…”

I ask students that take my Fear & Writing course and Fear & Writing workshop to freewrite to this prompt and it always seems to bring up good stuff.

In case you’re not sure what it is, freewriting is when you allow yourself to write anything that comes up (preferably with pen and paper) in response to a prompt and you don’t edit as you write. You can time yourself or not.

Here’s what came up when I freewrote to this prompt earlier this summer. What you see below is exactly what I wrote–I didn’t edit any of it.

MY SOUL WHISPERS…don’t give up, Peg.

Yes, you’ve had some major setbacks with your writing but this is all par for the course. You’re doing the work you need to do to prepare for challenging projects coming up. You’re in training for a major event and it can take years to train.

It feels frustrating, I know, to keep writing novels, screenplays, stories, and they don’t lead to tangible results. Much of what you’ve written has not been seen by anyone except a few beta readers.

It’s hard. I know you want your stuff out there. I know you want to communicate with people and help them in some way. Just know that you are doing that now with your blog posts and your newsletters, and someday, you will do that with your books and possibly, your scripts too.

Just please don’t give up hope, and please don’t stop trying. It’s tiring, it’s frustrating, it’s depressing, I know. But it won’t always be this way.

You need to know how to keep writing no matter what. No matter if no one is reading your stories or millions of people are reading your stories, you need to keep writing.

This period of time is about developing your rock solid discipline, about practicing your craft, and about listening to yourself and knowing when you need self-care. This time is about building a strong and bulletproof foundation.

You can do this and you will be able to handle anything that comes your way, whether good, bad, or something in between. This is about trusting yourself, trusting the Universe, and having the courage to take that step forward every day.

If it were easy, everyone would be doing it. But they aren’t. YOU’RE doing it. I am SO PROUD of you. KEEP GOING, PEG!

This message feels especially poignant as I’m riding the high of having successfully launched my first Kickstarter campaign (thanks to every marvelous human who pledged!). The high won’t last long. It never does. After it dissipates, it’s back to work, and it’s back to facing fears and doubts as I move forward one step, one sentence, at a time.

If you’re at a crossroads in your life, or need some help from your inner wise self, give this prompt a try. Put pen to paper and find out: what is your soul whispering to you?

Photo by Thought Catalog on Unsplash