Reading and Writing with Eri
I recently had the pleasure of interviewing a former collegiate colleague, Eri, who is a writer, blogger, and booknerd. Our conversation was indeed a breathtaking and an inspiring one. For a bit of background: She is currently a senior majoring in film & video production and is a creative writing minor at the University of West Georgia. Eri gravitates more to her creative writing minor; however, she is not limited to the possibilities of sitting in the writers and staffing room for films and television production. Writing is very intricate because it allows her to cope, reflect, and introduce others into her world. Some of the topics that matter most to her are mental health, physical health, and sexuality. Her love for books had played a significant role in allowing her to become the writer she is today.
On Eri’s Instagram page, one can become fascinated by her book collection! This led me to ask, “What made you take on such a hobby?” Reading books takes her into worlds that she wishes could be her reality. Her favorite genre is fantasy, and her least favorite is horror, especially supernatural horror. With being in school, it can be hard at times to take the adequate time to read as she would like; however, e-books help her get a book in while she may be at work or in between other tasks. The next question I asked was, “What would you suggest to those who would like to start reading or reading more but do not know where to start?” She suggested that someone starts off small like reading a poetry book, graphic novels, comics, online stories (outlets like Wattpad or blogs), and plays, then work themselves up to more extensive chapter books. One thing that she highly discourages is buying super hyped books starting off. Although New York Best Time Sellers say it is incredible, and there is flashy signage in the bookstore showcasing the book, it can be intimidating to read once you do not make time to read it or see how big the book is.
Eri utilizes her blog to create short stories, poems, short shorts, personal essays, and script excerpts. As a writer, she expressed that it is essential to use your voice to give constructive feedback to other writers and be able to receive feedback where you see best fits to progress in your own writing. Re-writing is necessary because it allows one’s work to evolve. She admires writer and producer Ava Duvernay because she is a woman who wears many hats, her work is impressive, and she is considered an underdog, which is never a bad thing. In addition, we touched on the common difficulties that many writers may face, which is staying disciplined in creating consistent content. She states that there may be periods where she may use cleaning her space or television series that may be on as an excuse to procrastinate and not write at times. She prefers to be in an excellent mindset to put her best work out. If she is not in the best mind space and still needs to push herself to write, she simply gets out of the house to keep her motivated and accountable to get the work done. Overall, she believes that traveling, whether going to a different town in your state, can help generate some of the best ideas for a story. “The tired old saying is write what you know, but I think it should be changed to write what you want to know,” she explains. She also adds that many writers should do research, get out, and go experience things they would like to write about because when you add your own personal spin to it, it [leaves] a bigger impact on other people. Her advice to upcoming writers who need help finding their gist in writing would be to start journaling, reading, which correlates well with writing, and going out and conversing with people. Simple conversations generate great ideas.
Social Media Handle and Website:
@bookishwonderland88
