“It’s not good enough” … “No one will read it…” “No one will like it…” “I’m not a real writer…” “Someone walked out in the middle of my reading…” “I got a bad review” … These are the nightmares writers have - the haunting doubts that wake us in the middle of the night, questioning … Continue reading Nightmares Writers Have
Author: J.G. Chayko
J.G. Chayko is a writer, actress and international arthritis advocate living on the beautiful west coast of British Columbia. She has published poetry, fiction and creative non-fiction. She is the author of the blogs The Old Lady in My Bones, based on her experience living with Rheumatoid Arthritis, and Corkboards and Coffeehouses, essays on her writing life. Her work has been featured in Canadian Stories, Arthritis Digest UK, Health Central, and Pain Free Living Magazine. She is a contributing writer to the book “Real Life Diaries: Living with Rheumatic Disease”. She is currently studying with the Writers Studio Program and working on a novel.
Break Your Chains: Write Everywhere
Summer has finally arrived on the west coast - after a stormy beginning, the cool overcast mornings have given way to clear skies and sultry twilights. It’s a time to sit back and breathe, maybe take some vacation time, and slow down from the rush of work and school. After six months of surviving workshops, … Continue reading Break Your Chains: Write Everywhere
Giving Your Voice to Your Words
The first time reading your work in front of an audience can be both exciting and terrifying. It’s exciting because we get to share our work; it’s terrifying because we are exposing our heart and soul and opening ourselves up to criticism. Writers are not the most social creatures. We spend the better part of … Continue reading Giving Your Voice to Your Words
A Good Place to Start: Writing and the Internet
“The internet is a dark road to infinity potholed with links” - Rex Pickett, Sideways I read this quote in Rex Pickett’s novel Sideways and I couldn’t get it out of my mind. Aside from the fact that it’s a brilliant metaphor, it made me stop and think about technology today - technology and its … Continue reading A Good Place to Start: Writing and the Internet
The Writer’s Studio
It took three months, an essay, an application, a resume and 20 pages of my own work, published or not, finished or unfinished, and works in progress. A month after the deadline, I got the email I hoped for: “I am very pleased to inform you that you have been accepted into The Writer's Studio Vancouver at Simon Fraser … Continue reading The Writer’s Studio
Far and Away: A Writers Dream
There’s something romantic about stories of writers who have the means to travel to other places, live there for a few months and write. This is the dream we all have as writers. We imagine a cabin in the woods, a quiet desk at the window with a view, wildlife roaming freely through a lush … Continue reading Far and Away: A Writers Dream
A Summer of Reading
Write every day. That’s the advice we are given when we start writing - to make it a habit, to incorporate it into our daily schedule, to just write. And for the most part, I do. But during the summer, my writing work slows down. Most of my deadlines have passed, the days are warmer … Continue reading A Summer of Reading
