Q&A with Author, Elisabeth Cherkas
Elisabeth Cherkas – Author Bio
Elisabeth is a university student completing her degree in Human Kinetics, but carries with her a childhood dream of becoming an author. As an avid reader and daydreamer, she is determined to share all about the worlds she has created in her mind. Elisabeth recently entered her first writing competition and was successful in making it to the top 60 writers in a field of over 3700 competitors. This success added fuel to her writing aspirations, and she is now pursuing her passion of filling the library shelves she used to empty each week.
Q&A
What is it about dragons that you love so much?
What I love the most about dragons is how there are so many diverse stories about dragons across a multitude of cultures. I like reading about the different ways that dragons can be interpreted and worked to fit into any story and will always be unique to that world. I find it fascinating how for a creature that (supposedly) doesn’t exist, the legends about them are so widespread. They exist in so many different mythologies and across so many different cultures that there is always something more to learn about them. Dragons can be wise and regal, giving advice to travelling adventurers, they can be cunning and greedy stopping the hero from reaching their goal or almost anything else the story requires. There is so much that had been done with dragons, and so much they can still do. Also, I think dragons are just cool. What’s not to love about a giant fire breathing creature that can either help or hinder your quest.
Why do you enjoy writing about dragons?
I write about dragons for the same reason I like to read about them. The real world is boring. As a kid, I never really liked reading realistic fiction, I gravitated towards fantasy novels or any story that couldn’t take place in our world today. I thought that if the story I was reading could happen in real life, what was the point in reading about it. It’s so much more interesting when it takes place outside the realm of possibility. I love the element of fantasy and wonder that dragons can bring to a story and how they can fit in to almost any setting and make it just a little bit more magical.
Other than the excitement that dragons add to a story, I also love to learn about them. One of my favorite things to do while writing is research anything and everything about the subject, whether its related or not. I probably spend almost as much time down a google rabbit hole as I do writing, and I always end up with some fun facts to share with anyone that will listen. That’s so easy to do with dragons, with all their history and cultural influences, I could spend hours reading about them. There’s always something new to learn. With so much history and inspiration to take from them, I think just about any story can be improved by adding in a dragon.
What are some of your favorite books to read featuring dragons?
I am not picky when it comes to books, and having a dragon in them usually puts them at the top of my list. One of my favorite books as a kid was The Paper Bag Princess by Robert Munsch and was a great introduction to dragons. I loved the personalities of all the characters in the book and how I shared a name with the main character. I loved imagining myself in her paper bag, saving the day. My love for fantasy most likely started here.
Currently, I’m reading through the Temeraire series by Naomi Novik and loving the historical fiction take on fantasy. I have always loved historical fiction as a genre and how it gives me a glimpse into the past. In the Temeraire series, history is rewritten with the absolutely necessary addition of dragons. It’s a combination of my two favorite genres. Novik did an excellent job at making dragons feel like a completely natural part of the Napoleonic wars. The world building is incredible and writes dragons into the rules of the world without them ever feeling out of place. Before the series, I didn’t think I could get so invested in the relationship between an old sea captain and his dragon. The series is definitely worth the read.
What got you into writing?
When I was a kid, I loved to read. Still do, but back then I would regularly hit the check out limit at the library trying to read all I could. It got to the point that I wanted to read longer and more challenging books, but wasn’t quite ready to step into the world of vampires and love triangles that awaited me in the Y.A. genre. Sometime in the third grade, I decided that if I couldn’t find the right books for me, I was just going to have to write them myself. I kept that goal through out high school and university, not working towards it, but not letting it go just yet.
More recently, I decided to enter a writing competition with my mom. She also likes to write, and I thought the competition would be a great chance for me to see if I was as good a writer as third grade me hoped and to spend some time with my mom. It ended up going a lot better for me that I hoped, and it reignited the desire that I had in elementary school to write. I decided to keep up with it and see what I could create when I wasn’t under the constraints of a competition. My journey is just beginning but I’m hoping I have a long and enjoyable life of writing ahead of me. Someday I’m going to write the story I wanted as a kid.
If there was one piece of advice you could give to other writers, what would it be?
Daydream. Make up stories in your head. Create worlds and characters just for you to explore, even if they never make it out of your mind. I find the best part about writing is that there are no limits. If I wish a book existed with a specific plot line, I can make it exist. Inside my mind, anything is possible, and it doesn’t matter if other people like it, it’s my story. I love long drives, or walks, or workouts, any chance I get to just play some music and get lost in the current story I’m working on in my head. Who cares if other people would like it, I do and that’s what matters.
Write what you want to read and what you’re passionate about without worrying about how other people are going to react to it. Use your creativity and write about what you will enjoy. If you liked writing about it, there will be people who will like reading it.
Where can readers follow your writer platform?
You can follow me on Instagram @forelementaryme or on my website at www.elisabethcherkaswrites.com. I love posting thoughts about my current reads and any short projects I am working on.