Peg Cheng

Writer + Intuitive Adviser

BLOG

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.

By

How I Plan and Plot a Novel

Seattle_Map_1914Before I write a novel, I plan and plot it out. To me, planning and plotting is like creating your map before going on a road trip. Unlike Plotters, I don’t want to map out every single stop along the way; but unlike Pantsers, I also don’t want to take off and not know where I’m going to end up.

I’m somewhere in the middle. I like to know when and where I’m leaving from, what my final destination is, and some major stops along the way. I leave the rest of the trip to be discovered each day.

I’m almost finished planning and plotting my Seven Dudes novel. Like so many stories, it’s been floating around in my head for years. Eleven years, in fact. I first came up with the idea of a suspense story inspired by Snow White back in 2005. Now that I’m a full-time writer, it’s the novel that I most want to write. It’s time to finally do it.

Here are the five major pieces that I write down before I start writing a novel. I learned most of these from Brian McDonald‘s book, Invisible Ink: A Practical Guide to Building Stories that Resonate, and Jess Lourey‘s article, A Pyramid Approach to Novel Writing.

  1. One-sentence summary: This is like the blurb you’d read in a book catalog. It’s one sentence that sums up your entire novel. Hard to do but once you do it, it makes things clear as day. See the Pyramid Approach for tips.
  2. Three acts map: I divide a sheet of paper into three sections (the middle section is twice as big as the first and third section) and write at the top of each section: Act 1, Act 2, and Act 3. Then for each one, I jot down as many things as I can think of that need to be covered in each act. Often, I don’t know exactly how some plot point or characteristic will happen, just that I need to show it. For example, for Act 1 of Seven Dudes, I’ve written down things like: “We meet Doc and see how much of a loner he is” and “Show Doc’s obsession with bonsai trees.” Read Invisible Ink for tips on the three acts and what needs to be included in each one.
  3. Back cover: This is what you’ll find on the back cover of my novel. It’s a short, punchy summary that gives the reader just enough information to know what the story’s about and to want to read it. Having this written before I write my novel keeps me focused on the end goal while I’m writing. For details on how I wrote the back cover for my first novel, The Contenders, go here.
  4. Character bible: In the past, I used to write tons of details about each character including what they look like, what they wear, their favorite foods, their astrological sign, etc., but now I just identify an actor or actress that reminds me of my character and I copy and paste their photo into my Word doc. Then, next to the photo, I write down the character’s greatest want, need, and fear. Sounds simple but it takes a lot of deep thinking. See the Pyramid Approach for tips on creating a character bible.
  5. Armature: As McDonald explains in Invisible Ink, the armature is “the idea upon which we hang our story,” and “it’s what you want want to say with your piece.” In essence, “the armature is your point.” I believe the armature is the most important part of planning and plotting your story, but for me, it’s the hardest thing to do. I have a feeling inside of what my armature is for Seven Dudes, but so far, I can’t articulate it in words. The same thing happened with The Contenders. I had to finish everything else before I could finally nail down the armature.

These five pieces might sound relatively simple, but I find the process of creating them to be the hardest part of writing a novel. I admit–it makes my brain hurt doing some of these parts.

The great thing, though, is that once I have these five components nailed down, I feel READY. I can dive into writing my story with some confidence. Just like heading out on a road trip, it’s freeing and exhilarating to finally take off after all that planning!

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.