Writer Wednesday: Jack Cheng

Some people are born to set roots and others are born to roam the world. Jack Cheng is of the latter kind and you just need to see his Instagram to see how much of the world he has explored. It’d be enough to recognize that Jack is a talented writer, his first novel These Days is a great example of how well and real he can write. The thing is that writing is just one aspect of Jack and his professional trajectory and life journey is as interesting as his stories.

Here’re a couple of questions so you can get to know a little more about Jack.

1. Hi, Jack. So happy to have you as part of Writer Wednesday. Why don’t you give us a quick tour of what your professional trajectory has been like so far in your life?

Every career I’ve had started as a hobby. In college I was studying communications and economics but goofing around on Photoshop contest websites like Worth1000, and that helped me land an advertising internship (which was how I met you!). I moved to New York after I graduated and while I was working as an art director I spent a lot of spare time blogging and building websites. I quit my last ad job in fall of 2008 and freelanced for a while, then started a small design studio building websites and apps with a couple of friends. Around that time I also started working on a novel. I’d come home from work exhausted and spend an hour or two in front of the computer and then pass out in bed. At some point I realized I enjoyed writing so much that I’d be willing to move back to Michigan and live out of my parents’ basement to keep doing it, and I couldn’t say that about my day job.

I was telling all this to a friend over ramen and he was like, Why don’t you quit? And I was like, Why don’t I quit? At that point I had a second draft of my novel and was ready to launch the Kickstarter campaign to fund a print run. The campaign was a success; I hired an editor and went pretty much full time on the book, and shipped it to my backers nine months later.

I’m working on my second novel now, living in Detroit (though I do have my own place) and I freelance every once in a while to pay the bills.

2. What places have you visited in the world and which would you recommend as your top 3 places people should visit?

I was born in Shanghai and go back pretty often with my mom and brother because my dad’s job has him there for most of the year. Recently we’ve been doing a family trip every Christmas holiday, and most this past year went on a cruise of the eastern Mediterranean. I’ve been on every continent except Africa and Antarctica.

My top three are all part of trips that effected huge changes in my life, and as I list them I realize, maybe unsurprisingly, that they were all solo trips too: Kyoto, Japan (my first time traveling alone), New Mexico (part of a monthlong road trip two summers ago), and The Sacred Valley in Peru (in February of 2014).

3. How has being Asian impacted your life on a personal and professional level?

We moved from Shanghai when I was five and I grew up very much American. There’s discrimination, but a lot of it is unconscious stereotyping, even well-intentioned at times, and the most overt forms of it I’ve experienced have come from hormone-ridden teenagers. The new show Fresh Off the Boat is not far off from what it was like for me growing up. My parents made me go to Chinese school on Saturdays and I think anything your parents force on you at that age you automatically reject, and it’s taken me half my life to start developing a natural interest in where I come from. There are doors that I'm on the verge of opening.

4. What was it like writing and presenting These Days?

It was the best thing I’ve ever done. When you finish a monumental project like publishing a book, it makes you feel confident you can handle other monumental projects too. At least, it did for me.

5. You had a great Kickstarter campaign, how would you describe the reaction to the campaign and what can you tell us regarding that experience?

The reaction was great. When the support came in I realized how reciprocal the project was as a whole. Even though it was fiction I was writing about what I’d been living and breathing for years—advertising, design, tech—and because I was living and breathing those things, the audience for my book was an audience of people I already knew and were friends with.

6. What’s China like and how has it influenced you in the way you see life?

China is massive and bewildering. Things feel different every time I’m back in Shanghai. There is a kind of mob mentality there that reminds me at times of the Internet at both its best and worst. If you're interested in modern Chinese culture, I recommend reading China Smack, which posts a daily story that's trending in Chinese social media (along with comments) translated into English.

7. If you could transport yourself into a book by touching it, which stories would you like to visit and why?

My gut reaction here is to say sci-fi because OUTER SPACE. But I’d also like to go the other direction, feel what it really felt like to live in the past. It’s like, Thoreau complained about newspapers and gossip but did it feel as out of control back then as the Buzzfeedy internet does today? These are things I would like to know.

8. You’re a super hero and you have a super-secret lair. What’s in it and how do you access it?

If I were a superhero then I would able to fly, and if I were able to fly then my lair would either be in the clouds or on a secluded mountain with a view overlooking a valley. It would have a desk, something to type on, a notebook and pen, and a supply of healthy delicious food. In other words, everything I have now in Detroit, minus the flying.

9. You’re commissioned to design the most ridiculous obstacle course in existence, what are the five obstacles people have to face and what’s the prize at the end?

1. Voltron of all your ex-partners
2. Ten hours in a room with your biggest vice
3. Being in an episode of Black Mirror
4. Michigan winter
5. Writing a novel

The prize would be the fortitude gained from finishing the obstacle course.

10. If people don’t know Jack and want to remedy that, where do they find you and what’s next for you?

Every Sunday I send out a weekly newsletter, usually three or four paragraphs on something that pertains to whatever I'm writing or learning. I’m also @jackcheng on the tweets.


***

Some people live life on autopilot. Jack is exactly the opposite of this. Thanks to him for taking the time to let us get to know him a little better and to you for reading.

Cheers,

Method to Madness: Getting hopped - My creative process

I always enjoy connecting with new interesting people because I think the more we share, the more we learn, the more we live and the more we can discover. Recently a very good friend got a “blog hop” with some questions to explore the method to her art and she was kind enough to pass along the “hop”, so to speak. Katherine Lipnitskaya is from Belarus and she writes poetry in Russian, Belarusian and English. We share a mutual appreciation for the written word and are both fans of capturing the essence of a moment and exploring feelings through verse. Her blog offers an interesting perspective on many things and apart from being thankful for the shoutout, I certainly enjoy the friendship so far across the world and her talent for poetry. Her blog can be found by clicking here.

So she got some questions in regards to her creative process and she passed them along to me, so here are the questions and my answers as we explore the Method to my Madness.

What are you writing?

At any given time I’m working on several projects and right now is no exception. Here’s a rundown of what to expect from me in the near future:

The Sequel to Only Human: Only Human took me 8 years to complete, so naturally it’s taken me a few months to write down about 30% of the sequel. It’s amazing how easy the story is flowing in comparison to the other’s trek and it all has to do with breaking down that wall of writing my first book and finding the story that will flow through all three steps of the Human Cycle. Much darker in tone, I continue my exploration of the human aspect and what it means to be human.

Young Adult project: I am currently a quarter of the way done with a Young Adult project I’ve been working on for a while now, which talks about a kid who dreams of flying. I’m amazed at how much more human it feels than I thought it would and am just happy to let the story flow. It is very personal in the sense that I touch on countless things from my childhood and my life, from relatives to stories that still resonate with me, over twenty years after I first read them.

An already finished poetry compilation to be released very soon. I had actually lost touch with poetry for a long while, instead focusing on riffs and lyric fragments for songs and last year I refound my love for poetry, quickly penning over 60 poems thanks to the urging of various lovely people that convinced me that maybe I had something worthwhile to share.

A bilingual compilation which is 70% done at the moment. Being Hispanic, I want to show what it’s like to live a bilingual life and although some people won’t understand one language or the other, it’s my invitation for people to spend time with friends who speak the other language to discuss or to learn something new.

And along with this, I’m also working on a noir novel, a Spanish poetry compilation, a philosophy project, two nonfiction works about my perspective on life and I’m always adding to the blog, which goes from essays/posts and poetry to short stories and anything I think can resonate with people. Oh and my Daydreams on the Sherbert Shore, a stream of thought adventure series from my blog where I invite fellow writers into my daydreams.

Why do you write what you do?

I am fascinated by the aspect of humanity and what it means to be human. I love fiction and have always gravitated towards that vein of literature because through fiction we can discover what makes us tick as humans. Our wishes, our dreams, our fantasies… it all speaks about what drives and defines us and I’m interested in showing how fascinating we are.

As I mentioned earlier, poetry came about because last year I posted a poem and was surprised at how much of a response it received and it invited me to push myself and my writing in poetry as much as possible.

And sure, all this sounds fantastic though in reality, I write because I have a deep seeded need to write. I love to write, am in love with the written word and truly can’t imagine myself not writing. In fact, the more time passes the more I need to write and the more stories I want to share because in these stories, we can connect, we can resonate and we can enjoy the beauty of being human.

What is your writing process?

Each project has its own spirit and its own method. Some works I write on paper and pen, others I need to use a pencil, others I do directly on the computer and I decided a long time ago I would not be a slave to method, only to my stories and whatever message I felt I needed to share.

With Only Human, the process was quite interesting because I overdosed on information, jotted down a rough route I wanted to follow in my story and then allowed history, religious texts, geography and folklore to guide me on my way, not to mention over 200 pages of notes. I wrote down the titles of the 44 chapters and just let it flow. This means I had a rough map though mainly a start and finish and did whatever I needed to do to finish my adventure.

In the young adult project, I have about 100 index cards with chapter, location, character and event descriptions, which influence the story quite a bit. This means I basically already wrote the story in my head and my hands are just basically catching up and filling in the gaps with dialogue and details.

With poetry I rarely revisit a poem more than two times. That’s because I love capturing the essence of a moment. Some people like to tweak and adjust, and rewrite, and edit. To me, I love taking a picture of an emotion using words so it’s as pure as possible.

With other projects, I can write short stories in a single go or can take years until I finally see the path and write my way through it.

In posts and essays I really meditate about what personal experiences I can share to try to make a positive impact on people. Some time ago I made a very clear and firm decision to try and make a difference and be as honest as possible in the interest of understanding myself and hopefully sharing something that helps someone else. I truly believe it’s our time as a species to resonate and to give better than what we have done so up to this moment.

And that’s about it, except I need to single out a fellow blogger whom I follow and whom I think you should give a read to. Since deciding is rather a pain, instead here’s five blogs you should read.

Linda Anderson’s blog is titled Dabbling Writer although she hardly dabbles. She writes beautiful snapshot shorts and fantasy stories that truly leave you wanting more.

Cate Evans is a brilliant, witty, kooky English lass with a talent for writing clever rhymes and wonderful messages of light and life on her blog. Wonderful posts, lovely poetry and just a great person I'm honored to be able to know. 

Rachel Karp is a quirky spunky writer with a lot to say and a blog to say it on called Hippety Dippety. 

Veronica Brannon is one of the most honest writers I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading and her blog has a lot to offer if you want to read about passion and life. What’s on your Mind. 

María Rochelle is a wonderfully human writer who writes from her heart and was kind enough to collaborate with me on a blog post series last year. Her website can be found clicking here. 

And like these wonderfully talented people I’m fortunate to connect with countless other people to resonate and share our paths in life and I’ll be sharing more of them in the near future.

So here's to reading and connecting.

Sharing words and Reflections – an Introduction

Words have power. They can heal, they can nurture, they can destroy, they can mend old wounds or even open new ones. I’ve been writing for many years and blogging has been an integral part of my output for the better part of a decade.

Throughout I’ve seen how a post can resonate thousands of miles away because even though we are separated by distance, we are united by experience. About 3 years ago, I took a very important decision in my life and decided that I would strive and work to have as much of a positive impact as I could in the lives of people I interact with.

Does this mean I’m the Dalai Lama? No. Have I stopped using foul language? Hell no. Have I stopped ranting? That’s pretty much impossible. What has happened is that I’ve recognized that there’s a time and a place for language, topics and things to be shared. I’ve also learned that I know and have been told countless stories and have my own set of stories that have actually helped people while going through some tough times.

This blog is about the many faces of words, the many uses, the many adventures and applications of words to convey messages, to share stories, and sure, even on occasion to heal. Although this blog is relatively young, it has allowed me to come into contact with beautiful people around the world, men and women who have been kind enough to drop a comment or email. I’ve been able to rekindle my passion for poetry and occasionally I’ve actually been fortunate enough to get a thank you message for something I wrote because somehow it helped someone.

I had been trying to think of something else I could do on the blog when I started speaking with a new friend. We talked about writing, blogs, recommendations on Twitter and other social media platforms. Then one day came an interesting tidbit, she’d written something she wanted to post though was worried about posting it on her blog. Having coped with various situations in my life, I told her that for me writing is part of my healing process and that certain occasions where I’ve shared and posted my thoughts has been cathartic, in part because I put it out there and in part because other people resonated with my words and I saw I wasn’t alone... and that often makes all the difference.

After reading it, I said I really think you should put it out there… and she agreed. As I read her words, I also offered to respond to give my perspective either as a man, a writer, a Hispanic or any other lens that could offer a different perspective on the same topic. So she sent me her story, I will be posting it and I will be reacting to it.

This post is my invitation to anyone who wants to share their stories and thoughts. My email is jdestradawriter@gmail.com and I’d love to share words with you in addition to the ones you already read here. As for the posts I share, I simply ask for what unifies us, respect. It’s always Ok to disagree, it is our right. It is also our right to respect, appreciate and try to understand others and search and find light.

So with much appreciation for all the people who read me, we’ll be in touch.

Peace, love and maki rolls,

JD

Ripples

What you do has an effect,

Ponder that a moment, please, reflect.

A smile today is a thank you tomorrow,

A misplaced word can end in sorrow.

For ripples we are and ripples we see.

An effect had a cause that helped make it be.

A ripple’s beginnings easily slip sight.

Like a storm in a teacup or a dragonfly’s sigh.

So in memory’s book wherever you find it.

Look for and search for that which reminded,

Clues, answers, riddles or maybe a trace,

That a smile is but a ripple, that trickled to face.

Convenience isn’t always better

In a time of digital everything, I can’t help but feel that sometimes convenience and practicality aren’t what they’re cracked up to be. Sure I can have three weeks of music available on an iPod, but the satisfaction and joy of browsing around for hours in a record store has been lost to most people. You see, I love bargain bins because it lets me discover bands that maybe even stopped existing. I also don’t mind paying full price for a good album from a band I love. Actually, I went to the Berkley Amoeba store recently and had a blast just looking around for hours at CD cases of some artists I knew and many who were new to me. The process was rudimentary yet satisfying. Get 30 CDs, listen to samples. Set aside CDs you want. Repeat. People nowadays browse online, download illegally and can get an entire collection in a matter of days, if that.

I’m not saying that’s necessarily wrong, I’m saying that the search was part of the fun... or more so a BIG part of the fun, at least for me. I can say the same about books, browsing through bookstores isn’t practical... it’s time consuming and a pain to discover when the store has what you’re looking for in another section. The thing is that when you find a special random book you were looking for or some random surprise you pick up, it’s wonderful. Years back, my wife read the description of a book and said I might like it. I bought it without thinking twice and I was introduced to the brilliant Carl Hiaasen.

Our searches now are digital and so are most connections. Technology has allowed me to publish a book and for that I am eternally grateful. And not only that, it’s allowed me to publish a book by my own rules... now there is one detail about my book a lot of people still don’t know. I wrote the first draft entirely by hand: four notebooks of chicken scratchings that in them held the first part of my little story, whose first installment is over 600 pages long. Although the way I’m offering my book is quite convenient, the way it came about wasn’t. Hundreds of pages of research and notes, annotations and the grind that was transcribing said book... and I loved every second of it in large part because it was so impractical and people asked me why I did it that way. The answer is because I love book stores, and love record stores and love writing long emails rather than wall posts to say happy birthday and love going out of my way to have coffee or tea with a friend and because practical things may save time, but they sacrifice experience quite often.

Is a handwritten letter something practical nowadays? Of course it isn’t. The thing is that it shows you care and that you gladly invested time into something that wasn’t practical in the spirit of experience, of adventure, of life.

So here’s to at least occasionally being COMPLETELY impractical for the sake of living.

Peace, love and maki rolls.

JD