Who am I?My name is Cecil Yannick but most people call me Yann.
In a lot of ways I'm just your average guy. I like to play games, drink beer, hang out and sleep. What sets me apart from other guys my age is probably my passion for mental health education and social philosophy. I went to Macquarie University for Business Administration and my first job was as a receptionist at a local art school. Growing up I read a lot of books and wrote a lot of stories. I wrote my first short story when I was 11. It was titled Bubbles and followed the journey of a mermaid who became human in order to protest marine pollution and save her home. It wasn't very good, but it was something. |
FAQ
Why/when did you start writing?
I started writing as a way to cope with depression and anxiety but only considered the possibility of turning professional after I had landed my first full-time position as a writer for a city guide. Since then I've been blessed to have a steady stream of jobs both small and large. Now I write not only for myself but also as a way to spread awareness about mental health and its enduring stigma in society. Why do you write for the YA audience? Because a big part of why I write is to educate and I feel like teenagers are not prepped nearly enough for the pressures of life outside of their safe high school education. It's important to understand how to help someone with a mental health disorder or how to help yourself if you feel overwhelmed or stressed out. Also, these stigmas won't go away in the blink of an eye. It's better to start addressing the issues now with the younger generation than to dwell on the older generation that are firm in their beliefs. You're a photographer too? Not professionally, but I do enjoy going on photo hunts alone and with friends. Taking good photos is a major part of being a good blogger so I picked up most of my skills on the job. While I use a DSLR most of the time, I enjoy shooting on film much more. When I was going through CBT, one of the tips I took home was to take photos and write journal entries as a way to make up for my waning memories. At first I used a polaroid but the film was too expensive. I couldn't afford a good digital camera so I switched to my mother's old Canon AE-1. Eventually I grew to enjoy it and now it's an extension of my writing - another way to express myself. |
Is Cecil Yannick your real name?
Not entirely. My real name is very long and wouldn't make for a very good pen name. However, Cecil is a part of my name while Yannick actually started out as my gaming handle. What do you read? I really, really, really love magazines. My favourites are Purple Fashion and self service, but since they're both bi-annual, I bide my time with other publications like The Economist, Kinfolk and Boys by Girls (which is also bi-annual *sadface*). My two favourite books are actually picture books. The first being Oh! The Places You'll Go by Dr. Seuss and the second being The Arrival by Shaun Tan, which is actually completely wordless. I have a massive bookshelf dedicated to comics, graphic novels and manga, and two other bookshelves dedicated to magazines. The rest of my books I keep in my parents' study/library. What games do you play? Lately I've been into Seven Knights, a free-to-play RPG developed by Netmarble. I'm on the Asia server with yannickq as my IGN. If you're going to add me, shoot me a message first. I also play several Nintendo 3DS games on and off such as Zelda, Harvest Moon, and Animal Crossing. If you have a Steam account, you can add me there too, my username is 1310yan. I'm currently storming through Bastion and regularly play Mount Your Friends. |