About

Welcome to my metaphorical fridge, where you’ll find bits and pieces of my writings, and many traces of me.

My name is Monique Chénier, and I’m originally from Timmins, Ontario. I moved south to Peterborough three years ago. Like many other writers, I’ve been scribbling down thoughts and imaginings most of my life.

Interestingly, my real start as a writer didn’t happen until 1991, when I was 27 years old. By then, I’d been a mother for seven years and an English high school teacher for almost two. That year, I attended a writing workshop that would transform me from someone who dreamed about writing into someone who finally claimed the title of writer.

To say I was thrilled is an understatement. After that workshop, I was in a constant state of joy. I could barely contain myself. I wanted to share my newfound joie d’écrire with as many people as possible. At work, I immediately started a student-driven Creative Writing Club which I facilitated for over 22 years. I was also fortunate enough to teach Creative Writing to senior students during that period. I believe many of them left that class as budding writers themselves.

Outside of my school life, I started an adult community writing group and organized readings at a coffee shop called Aromas on Sunday afternoons. Eventually, I became a published poet and entered the realm of professional writing.

And, once I started writing, I mean really, really writing, I never stopped. If I wasn’t writing short stories and poetry, I was journaling. Or writing for a community newsletter. Or a regional Arts magazine. In between, I wrote with my students. I wrote with my friends. My coworkers. Fellow students I met a few years later when I completed further studies in English Literature.

Even when I left teaching to experience life as a business owner in 2015, I continued to scribble down my thoughts and imaginings. For almost a decade, my writing would turn toward marketing and wellness articles, yet I continued to endeavour to share my love of writing with the community. In 2018 and 2019, I ran writing workshops at the local library, and even hosted two writers’ retreats. In 2019, I also began journaling every day. By 2020, I was penning an eco-fiction novel.

In my today life as a full-time writer in Peterborough, Ontario, I still start each day with morning pages. I meet with The Daily Scribblers’ Club at 7 am. I participate in writing workshops given throughout the community I am still getting to know. Soon, I hope to read a poem at the monthly open mic at Dreams of Beans Ptbo. Recently, I sent out an application to the Peterborough Public Library to facilitate a writing workshop this summer.

In the 30+ years I’ve been writing, I have never lost my love of it, nor my wish to share my passion for it with others. If you are a writer, I hope our paths someday meet. If not, may whatever brings you joy in life continue to do so for years and years to come.

Kind regards,

Monique