PROMPTS:
1. The
reception [interpret this in any way you wish]
2. "You'd
better not mess with him.' [you have to include this bit of speech
somewhere in your story]
3. A
story involving a library in some way.
4. Hearts and Flowers [theme and/or title of story]
My poem 'At Dusk' appears in the current edition of Neologism.
https://www.neologismpoetry.com/January-2024/
Christopher Fields, the editor, has helpfully supplied links to journals mentioned in my Author Biography [below the poem], so you can easily click on them to see other published work of mine.
Lily Lawson
So far in this series, I’ve showcased the writers Ruth Loten, Jane Langan, BeckCollett, Ron Hardwick, L.N.Hunter, Katherine Blessan, Jill Saudek, Colin Johnson, Sue Davnall and Alain Li Wan Po. You can find all these showcases by scrolling back through the material on this blog.
Our first showcase of 2024 turns the spotlight onto Lily Lawson, poet, story-writer, non-fiction writer, and all-round Great Woman.
Biography
Lily Lawson hails from North Yorkshire and lives in the Northeast.
She writes poetry, kid’s books, short stories, and non-fiction. She has self- published four poetry collections and three children’s picture books. In addition to her books she has been published in anthologies and online.
In her working life, Lily undertook various customer-facing roles in the retail and clerical sector before becoming her parents’ carer. In a voluntary capacity, she served on various committees, some as secretary. She also ran a kids' club and played a major role in other children’s activities.
Calling herself the eternal student, she completed a wide range of courses. She is now studying for a degree with the Open University.
She dabbles in singing, acting, and puppetry. Lily loves to dance and will try everything from sequence and ballroom to line dancing and hip hop. She was outnumbered in mock battle, failed twice at ice skating, and her pottery isn’t much better. She’s travelled a fair amount of the UK, taking in a number of theatres, historical sites, pleasure parks and football grounds. Lily loves music and concerts. She can’t play an instrument but she’s never far from being behind a camera. She has attempted drawing and painting and hasn’t ruled out more in the future.
Her current projects include Sandcastles, her first short story collection and Rainbow’s Yellow Book of Poetry, the third book in her Rainbow series.
https://mybook.to/rainbowsorangebook
https://mybook.to/RainbowsRedPoetryBook
http://mybook.to/ATasteofWhatstoCome
https://mybook.to/MyFathersDaughter
https://mybook.to/SantasEarlyChristmas
https://mybook.to/IfIwereInvisible
https://mybook.to/PalmTreeSwingers
Everyone needs some Lily in their life!
******
Lily has chosen to showcase five of her wonderful poems, the first two from her first Rainbow Poetry Collection [Red] and the other three from her most recent Rainbow Poetry Collection [Orange].
Collective
Creativity
We
paint from the palette of life –
use
brushes of all sizes, old and new.
Sometimes
other people
will
add colours to the canvas.
Each
image, unique in interpretation
Every
one, a masterpiece.
Hate leaks from lips,
its powerful punch
poisoning all within its wake,
wasting weighty words on
trivial pursuits.
Love
flows from the heart,
its
calming lotion pouring in caressing streams,
healing
wounds, seeping into souls.
keen to ingratiate themselves
bow and scrape at its feet.
When they hear the battle
cry, they charge.
Love
listens long.
Its
gentle voice persuading, reaching out,
accepting
all in its embrace.
I am a poet
It’s what I do.
I convey
my words to you
in dancing fire,
in beating drum.
I’ve finished
before you’ve begun.
The novelist
of whom you’ve likely heard
may find
my brevity absurd.
There is space
for a weighty tome,
when you find yourself
at home.
Poetry dances
in the air,
it has the skill
of Fred Astaire.
It finds its way
through tiny nooks,
to people with no time
for books.
It lives and breathes
and can be found
even on the
underground,
graffitied
with a can of paint
or in collections
oh, how quaint.
It is recited oft
by heart
in entirety
or part.
I must insist
we put to bed
the thought of
poetry being dead.
Bring me your
cold coffee,
your hunger
pangs,
your dry
throats,
your forgotten
houseplants,
your neglected
housework,
and I will say,
‘Hey writer!’
Poetry spoke
the language of the long dead.
Its curious spelling and strange vocabulary
foreign on my tongue.
It called to me,
through intervening years,
a plea from those who penned the lines I read,
that they be understood and so live on
in books that many hands have held,
some with care, some without.
The language,
developed and moved on,
a living thing,
adapted in spoken and written form,
so that it may convey, the messages of our time,
to include or exclude.
I hope
generations yet to be
will listen to the words
of long forgotten use,
and hear the call
of poetry.
And finally we come to The Big
Interview, in which Lily kindly answers
writing-related questions and lets us
into some of her writing secrets...
How old were you when you first knew you
wanted to be a writer, and what set you off down that journey?
From the age of 11, I wrote
on and off. I had poems published in my twenties, but it wasn’t until 2019 that
I took it seriously. I never saw it as ‘I want to be a writer’ – I just wrote.
I didn’t see it as something people like me could be. I didn’t know any
writers. I stopped trying to get poetry published because I didn’t know what to
do.
I
started at the Open University in 2017, and I joined Twitter as part of a
module then left my Twitter account dormant. I was encouraged by the OU to join
a Facebook group where I made friends but left quickly. I wanted to stay in
touch with one of the admins and I found her on Twitter. We became friends. She
encouraged me to write for prompts.
There was
a 50-word story competition, and I won it. Some OU people were following me,
including The Write Club [the OU’s own writing group]. I decided to see what it was all about, little
knowing my new friend was a member. I see now that her sharing my work probably
got them to see it. Being involved with what they were doing inspired me. They
also published some of my writing. I got
lots of advice from members and was encouraged to publish my own book. That was
My Father’s Daughter.
Tell us about the books and writers that
have shaped your life and your writing career.
Have your children, other family members,
friends or teachers inspired any of your writing?
One of my secondary school English teachers helped me see that song lyrics are poetry by getting us to write new words about scrambled eggs to the tune of Yesterday by The Beatles and therefore I was a fan of living poets. I love music. I know a lot of song lyrics by heart, and it can be inspiring.
My parents have inspired some of my writing. ‘Till death us do part’ (Sandcastles) is based on my dad. ‘Sometimes’ (My Father’s Daughter) and the pieces I wrote for Footsteps and Echoes were about my mam. My friends and in some cases their writing has inspired me and continues to do so.
Does the place you live now, or any
other places you’ve lived, have any impact on your writing?
My short stories are set in
various locations that are well known to me and that I have tweaked quite a lot
or taken parts of them and put them with other parts from another place
entirely. I’d be surprised if people could recognize any of it. I sometimes do
that with poetry too but that can be more obvious. I have written poems about
my hometown where I have lived almost all of my life.
I think
we are all inspired by our environment and if I lived somewhere else, I am sure
that would be reflected in my writing.
How would you describe your own writing? Do you tend to write in a particular
genre, style or form?
I am by default a poet, but
I love to write stories too. I write what comes unless there is a reason to
write in a certain way, for a prompt for example. My poetry is often free verse,
but I have dabbled with form now and then.
Are there certain themes that draw you to
them when you are writing?
The social scientist in me
likes to explore how people feel, think and act in certain situations. I love
people. I talk way too much and so do my characters.
Tell us about how you approach your
writing. Are you a planner or a pantser?
I am definitely a pantser. I don’t plan very often. I have toyed with the idea of writing a novel and that was the only thing I planned at all and that was about 20k in when I realised it was necessary. I may try again at some point but likely a different story.
Do you have any advice for someone who
might be thinking about starting to write creatively?
Are you, or have you been in the past, a
member of any writing groups, online or face-to-face? What do you think is the value of
such groups?
Have you studied creative writing on any
sort of formal course? What do you think you have learned from such courses?
I have completed courses
with Udemy, Futurelearn, OpenLearn, and Reedsy. I am studying for a degree with
the Open University which includes two creative writing modules, one of which I
have completed. I think it’s important that,
as writers, we keep learning formally or informally.
What do you think about getting feedback
on your work from other writers and/or non-writers?
I find it very worthwhile. I
have had a lot of feedback over the years, and I wouldn’t publish a book of any
kind without someone seeing it first and giving me feedback.
For
fiction, I do have experienced writing eyes that will look over it for me. I
have had a lot of feedback from fellow poets in the past but these days my
poetry betas are more likely to be readers or those who are better known for
their fiction. I read the feedback I receive and see if I agree with it. If I
agree, I implement it.
My
Father’s Daughter had too many eyes
and I can still be guilty of that, especially with a new project in a different
direction. I would say, find people you trust and not too many of them. I like
at least one new pair of eyes per book in addition to my trusted souls if
possible. I’m growing as a writer and seeking to grow my readership, so finding
a new person to read for me gives me a fresh perspective. I try and get kids to
beta my kid’s books as they are honest and are nearer to the target readership
in age.
Do you have experience of either
traditional publication, hybrid publication or self-publication, and/or have
you had shorter pieces or poetry published in magazines or anthologies?
I have self-published seven
books to date, and I have plans for more. I have had poetry, short stories and
non-fiction published online (most notably in Makarelle) and in
anthologies.
The challenge of self-publishing never goes away. Getting everything correct for Amazon is something I have yet to master completely. I am extremely lucky to have friends who have the skills to help me or teach me. Santa’s Early Christmas was the hardest challenge to get right, and I would never have managed it alone.
As far as being published away from my own books, Makarelle was the most nerve wracking and the one I felt the biggest sense of achievement from.
It’s hard work, particularly on the marketing side, but it’s worth it. Every time I see my name on a book cover, it fills me with a sense of pride. I did that. I would never have thought that kid who wrote poems in their jotter would be able to do that. I would have laughed if you had suggested that back then.
Do you enter writing competitions?
I have entered some but
never got anywhere. I can see that being
placed in a competition or winning it is an ego boost, a validation of you as a
writer. I know that some people strive to move up from the long list to the
short list and hopefully to the winner’s podium. It can also be good publicity.
If you do well in a prestigious competition, it might bring an author some
attention. I am kind of on the fence because I can’t see me ever doing well at them,
but I know they have their place in the writing calendar and are valued by many
people.
Where do you get your ideas from?
Everywhere. Sometimes I
write in response to prompts. Reading a book or a poem, music, things that have
happened in my life, tv, film, the list goes on …
They say that successful writers need to
be selfish. How far do you agree with this?
I write every day, though
how much varies. Sometimes I write one piece or do some editing, sometimes
several pieces. I write wherever, whenever, mostly on my pc at my desk but it
can be on my phone or on paper. A set schedule wouldn’t work for me. I have
written at all hours of the day and night.
Would you describe yourself as a
‘cultured’ person?
I read regularly (66 books
in 2023). I was once a frequent theatre and cinema goer and I love museums and
art galleries. I have also been to a number of concerts. I can see me taking
some of that up again one day. My tv habits have changed a lot. I have cut back
in recent years, and I no longer watch ‘live’ tv. I binge a series or two at a
time. I am very fond of American tv and that makes up the majority of my
watchlist. The odd British series will sneak in, Australian and Canadian
programmes are not unknown. I rarely watch films. I am becoming more
restrictive about the media I consume. I no longer access news regularly. I feel that the art world and the writing
world can feed off each other but I don’t keep up to date. I don’t read literary novels, but I do read
widely so I wouldn’t rule it out. I have been told my poetry is all literary.
Are you interested in history, or
current affairs, and if so, does it impact on your writing?
I enjoy visiting old
buildings and places of interest. I wrote a poem about Bonfire Night. I think
you need to know your subject and do adequate research to make sure you are as
accurate as possible if using a historical setting or events within your work. Whatever
you reference, if it’s not accurate there will always be someone to tell you
and it is off-putting for readers.
How did the Covid pandemic affect you as
a writer?
I published my first two
books in 2020. I wrote a lot. I was my dad’s carer and an Open University
Student. I started studying A215 Creative Writing in October 2020.
Where would you place your own stories,
on a continuum with PURE FANTASY at one end and COMPLETE REALISM at the other?
You are someone who writes both fiction
and non-fiction. Do you have a preference?
I enjoy both. They bring out
different sides in me.
Thank you very much, Lily, for a brilliant and fascinating showcase.
In February, I will showcase
a writer who combines philosophy,
sociology, economics and psychology to produce impressive articles and essays:
Philip Badger
Not to be missed!
