Interview:Cerdisinerias

Today I am posting the interview with the talented .  Until recently I had not seen her work. But after going through her page I felt she would be perfect for this interview. She has a nice array of stories, concepts, OC work, and just random writings, showing us that you don't have to stay in one genre to be good at something. I have enjoyed reading and getting to know a little more about this artist and I hope you will do the same. So without further delay I give you what you are here for.

Tell us a bit about yourself.

My full username's Cerdisinerias, but I tell people to call me Cerdi. I'm a writer-in-training (as I suppose all writers are) with an emphasis on fantasy, fiction, and a little bit of poetry. Creative autobiographical nonfiction also appears to be a nice niche for me as well, though it's not something I want to delve into too often. In the end, I guess I'd call myself an explorer, as I like to fuse prose and poetry to see where that concoction gets me.

What drives you to write; what is your muse?

When I picture my muse, I always see a child version of myself, with an old lanky rabbit plush, in an endless field. This muse is usually staring off into the distance, until I lay out an idea in the clouds. That's when my muse takes off running, and I'm simply documenting the words her bare feet beat out through the grass.

Esoteric dream-like stuff to the side, I'm not one to wait for the muse to kick in. Rather, I'm always thinking about writing. I look at the mundane around me and think of ways to describe my surroundings, and how those descriptions can become poems, stories, or characters. I'm always looking for new ways to talk about the mundane, which drives me on to write.

When did you figure out you have the ability to write?

To be honest, I'm still not sure if I can say I have the ability to write. Yes, I take pen to paper and scribble out lines and paragraphs, and yes, I do have a number of features under my belt, but can I really call myself a writer? I realized I had the passion for it, at least, when I was in sixth grade and started writing Sonic the Hedgehog fanfiction. Ah, those were dark days...

Where do you draw inspiration from?

In a sense, I create my own inspiration by thinking and writing. I'll think about something I see, or I'll remember something from my childhood, then immediately write it down. I probably won't immediately come up with something presentable, but at least I've catalogued my thoughts for possible use later. I'll also think about how my characters interact with each other in relation to their story, and I'll inevitably end up with usable ideas to write down.

Tell us about your writing process.

On the first draft of anything I write, I tell myself to just get my thoughts down on the paper. Every part of my body usually screams at me something is wrong, and that I need to go back and edit, but I constantly tell myself to "just get the shitty first draft done." The idea's from Anne Lamott's Bird by Bird, and it's a concept that's helped me a lot through the years. "No one's going to see the shitty first draft." So no matter the thoughts that cross my head, I focus on getting it down.

After that, I set the piece aside for some time, from a few hours to a couple of weeks, and refresh myself with showers and general relaxation. The revision process is always a difficult one for me, as I focus on the craft and theme of my writing at this point. It takes a while, and it's a constant cycle, but I'm also starting to see the revision process as an extremely fun activity. It's like polishing a chrome fender!

What is the best tip/tips you can give to a fellow writer?

Just go for it! Perfectionism and doubt are a writer's deadliest enemies, especially since it's our job, as writers, to bring a certain truth to the page. Even if you doubt your ability, it's a brave step to just get your thoughts out and down. Polishing and fine-tuning your piece can come later, so separate the initial writing process from the revision.

That said, when it comes to revision, that's your moment to let your piece go. Let it see other people's eyes, and let it get hurt by criticism. That way, when your piece comes back all bruised and teary-eyed, you can focus on the craft of writing, rather than your own "broken" heart. Remember: you can pick and choose what criticism you want to listen to.

Lastly, read! Read books you like as well as books you don't like! When you're a writer, you're also a reader. You've got to know what kinds of writing, characters, styles, settings, and so on, that you do like, versus what you don't like.

Questions about the author's work:

Tell us about your main story and characters.

My current huge project is Arcana ( [link] ), which I featured on deviantART for a little while before totally revamping and moving it to wordpress.com. It's really an amateur idea that has been maturing with me, as the founding characters, Kevyn and Aislin, were once characters from my fanfiction career. Arcana is a fantasy story that follows a rather large cast of characters across its world, in a quest to figure out the "why?" to the world's events.

To which character can you relate the most and why?

To be fair, all of my characters have some connection to my perception of myself, but if I had to choose one character to relate to the most, I would have a tie between protagonists Kevyn and Aislin. Kevyn has my extroverted points as the basis of her personality, and so has charisma and spontaneity guiding her forward. She also fulfills my thirst for adventure, as Arcana follows her journey as she meets new people and explores various locations.

Aislin, on the other hand, has my introverted points as defining characteristics, and so often comes off as a passive, static character that only responds to her environment. Like Aislin, I feel static about myself a lot, but when the time does come for her to take initiative, she shows great motivation and devotion...very much like me and my writing.

What inspired you to write this story; how did you get the idea to write this?

My initial drive to write Arcana came from a desire to deviate away from fanfiction. When I realized the universes of video games were limiting the potential of my characters, I created the world of Isaiis and its systems of magic from scratch. That way, my characters finally had their own contexts I could refer to without feeling embarrassed or worried.

As I continued drafting the original chapters, I found I had a whole cast of characters in my head that were all connected to each other in some way. A huge part of me wanted to highlight the invisible networks humans establish with each other just through acquaintanceship. Relationships with each other influences how the network moves as a whole, so the events happening now could be repercussions of things that happened in the past. Long story short, part of my drive to write Arcana comes from wanting to show the smallness of our world.

What kind of reader will enjoy your work?

I'm hoping Arcana reaches mostly young adults like myself who enjoy seeing lots of characters interacting with each other. I'm also hoping the story appeals to fantasy buffs as well.

Please give us a short excerpt/extract/piece of your story.

From Chapter 7:

She pressed her palms together and inhaled deeply. Circular patterns and blocky letters shined to life around her feet. “I don’t have a lot of juice left, Neo. So. Give me your best shot, and I’ll send you all packing.”

“Oh I will,” Neonis whispered. Blue runes and circles glowed beneath him, darkening the shadows of his face as he turned to face Kevyn. “Oh I will, Kevyn. The moment you harm my crew—!”

“Oh! Is that all I have to do?” The Silver Vixen slammed her hands onto the sandy ground. “Then swim back to Seidona you sons of bitches! Solar Impact!”

Blasts of light erupted from the ground beneath the pirates, rocketing and catapulting them high into the air and into the ocean. The confused defenders on the sandbar watched in amazed silence as their enemies flew away in showers in light.

---

Since I feel such a close connection to Kevyn, I thought it would be best to snag a bit of Arcana that highlights the sort of person she is. Chapter 7 is where we see her in a magic duel for the first time, against one of her least favorite elements, water. Kevyn's all about provoking her opponent and taunting them from a distance, both of which are easy for her to do considering her agility. I think this excerpt is also a good way to show that I still need a lot of work on my writing. Hopefully my later chapters show improvement.

In closing, I want to thank and for featuring me for this interview! I loved having the chance to talk about myself as a writer, as well as Arcana. It's a little embarrassing to talk about one's projects, but it's all part of the experience of writing. I hope I was able to give a succinct taste of what the story offers. Keep writing, folks!