About
“I admire anybody who has the guts to write anything at all.”
– E. B. White
A Writer’s Life is a blog started by CJ Levinson in 2006. The CJ stands for Christopher John but I’ve always liked CJ or Chris more. I’m 23 and I live in Sydney. I’ve been writing for eight years and use this blog as a window to my thoughts on writing and life, with a touch of social commentary thrown in as well.
I’ve been writing since I was seven, when I finished my first story, an adaptation of Tim Burton’s Batman. It ended up being nothing like the movie; I killed Batman - guess I’ve always had a thing for sad endings. I’ve been writing seriously since I was sixteen and have had several small publications, as well as feedback from writers including Greg Bear, Jodi Picoult, Mike Moorcock and Zoran Zivkovik.
I’m currently working on my first novel and hope to have it finished by the end of 2008. I also write poetry and the occasional song. I’m a voracious reader and some of my favourite authors include Stephen King, Philip K. Dick, Margaret Atwood, Cormac McCarthy, Kazuo Ishiguro and Kelly Link. I also enjoy listening to music and always have something new on my iPod; I love anything from U2 and Coldplay to KT Tunstall and Sarah Blasko.
Away from writing I work in troubleshooting and I’m also an amateur photographer, although that’s more of a hobby than anything serious. One of my dreams is to open a small bookshop one day, with a cafe and poetry readings… I’d also love to travel and see more of the world, particularly Egypt and Japan.
My writing style is fairly eclectic and philosophical but if you read my blog for long enough, you’ll see I have a good sense of humour and I love nothing more than discussing different ideas. So I hope you stick around. Feel free to check out my writing if you’re interested - and thanks for stopping by. 
Hi CJ,
You recently left a comment on my blog, so thought I’d follow the link and take a look at yours. I was able to read a couple of your pieces and enjoyed your writing very much.
Thanks again for taking the time to read my poem.
Hi teeveebee, thanks for the compliment. I feel like I still have a long way to go with writing but I’m glad you liked what you read.
Your poem was beautiful, so I was very happy to have stumbled across it. Look forward to reading more. Thanks for stopping by.
Hi CJ, thanks for coming to my blog yesterday. I’ve read some of your work and i have to say that i like your style. I especially like “The Garden’s End”. It certainly made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up which, i have come to learn, means that it’s very good indeed.
I’ve tried poetry so many times in the past but have never been very pleased with what i have come up with. I still continue to mess around with it, and although I’m not brilliant at it i sort of enjoy the way poetry doesn’t have any rules in terms of how one structures each line and so on.
Hi Katherine. Thanks for the kind words about my writing; I’m glad you liked it. I liked writing the The Garden’s End; it felt very introspective and I hadn’t been as open as that in my poetry before.
I’m still not happy with anything I write; I always see little things to change or something’s not quite what I want it to be… in the end I have to let it go and I’ve learnt to enjoy the process more now. I think that’s why I like poetry; it doesn’t have to follow a structure and that’s very liberating.
Hope you get some good news about your freelancing; sounds exciting.
Hello CJ,
I found your link on Sulz’s blog and thought I’d check it out. I’ve read some of your works and am very impressed. I write constantly but am far to self - conscious to share with others. Reading your work how ever inspires me to reach out to others with what i have written so far.
Hope you don’t mind me linking to you from my blog.
Thanks,
NW
Hi NW, thanks for stopping by. I owe sulz a big thanks as I get a lot of people coming from her blog. I need to send her a blogging award or something.
And thanks for the kind words about my writing. I have a long way to go but I love writing and it’s an amazing feeling, putting something of yourself out there for others to read… it’s scary but when you connect with someone, it’s like nothing else. If you do share your work I’d love to see it.
Thanks for commenting and for the link. I’ll be having a look at your blog later.
You have a wonderful blog, and we are of similar age group. Wow.:) I have found very few people so far who have Kazuo Ishiguro as one of their favourite authors. I read his Remains of the Day first, and I didn’t stop until I read his entire work. I started blogging almost two months back only but have found some great blogs within very less time.
Regards.
Scratch Bags
Hi scratchbags, thanks for stopping by, and for the lovely comment. I like to think my blog is a work in progress but I’m quite proud of it.
Kazuo Ishiguro is just a wonderful author. I’m trying to work my way through all his novels; I started with Never Let Me Go and that’s my favourite. It’s one of the best novels I’ve read since Irving’s The Cider House Rules.
Congrats on starting your blog; I’m sure you’ll be a blog veteran in no time. I’ll pop across later to check it out.
Wonderful new look to your blog, love what you have done with it, it is so fresh and pleasing to the eye.
Thanks MQ! It took a lot of work but I wanted it to be more like a website, to have a clean and uncluttered look. I love it.
CJ,
Your wonderful mum put me on to your blog. I’m the guy who recently interviewed her for ‘Rob’s Reader of Week’. I just wanted to say hi and congratulate you on such a wonderful looking blog. You’ve got some first-class content here, which is not surprising given that you’ve been writing for so long.
I hope our paths cross again soon
Keep up the great work
Warmest
Rob
Hi Rob, thanks for stopping by, and for the wonderful compliment. I take a lot of pride in my blog and the new design has turned out really well. I feel like I’ve come a long way since I started blogging but I’m always looking for ways to improve as well… guess that’s the writer in me; or maybe just the perfectionist.
MQ’s told me a lot about your blog; look forward to checking it out later.
Thank you CJ for all your comments. Yes, I am feeling much better now, most of the cold is nearly gone. Sleep is a good healer:)
I agree on what you said about feedback. It is good to hear that someone does enjoy reading what you’ve written. It makes you want to write more.
I’ve had a look around your blog, and I really like the new look. I’ve also read some of your fiction and I enjoyed reading the one about Monica Davis. Very different.
Look forward to reading the new novel:)
Kristy.
Hi Kristy, glad to hear you’re feeling better. Colds are never much fun, are they? They throw me completely out of balance and I feel miserable for days. At least the chicken soup’s nice.
Feedback actually wasn’t something I thought about that much when I started writing but it’s been an incredible help, particularly when I was struggling to find a direction. I’ve learnt more from my correspondence than I ever expected; I’m sure you will too.
And thanks for the kind words about my blog and work! Monica Davis is probably one of my better stories; I’ve been thinking about expanding it into a longer work at some stage. Just have to finish the novel first! Damn writer’s block. Thanks for stopping by.
In the realm of odd coincidences I was on Last.fm and looked at Bic Runga’s artists page and thought that the name ‘Cjwriter’ displayed in the recent listens seemed familiar.. Took me a few hours to figure it out and then find your new blog, but now I’m here and can’t say: Great taste in music! Bic Runga is one of my favourite artists.
And I simply love your blog theme, it’s great!
That is an odd coincidence, Cat, that we were both listening to Bic Runga at the same time. She’s great, though; I love her music and Sway is one of my favourite songs.
And thanks for the compliment! It took me ages to find the right theme; I love this one.
Thanks so much for all your comments on my blog. I love the layout you have here. Wishing the best always.
Amanda
Thanks for stopping by, Amanda. It’s been a pleasure reading your poetry; it’s beautiful and I look forward to reading more. Take care, and thanks for the kind words.