Reframing the Mundane as Marvelous with Lucy Beckley

ABOUT THE EPISODE

Today’s Mother Writer is Lucy Beckley, a writer, poet and marketing consultant based in Cornwall. As a regular contributor to Motherscope over the past year, I’ve grown to be an immense fan of Lucy’s beautiful writing and the way she strings together a seemingly simple moment with profound insight and validating conclusions. In this episode, Lucy walks us through her own process of reframing the mundane as marvelous and shares the steps she takes to find stories hidden in plain sight. At the end of the episode, Lucy lets us in on her current writing project and also reads an excerpt from her story, “Kisses in the Sky.” If you’re a mother who finds yourself second-guessing about the worthiness of your stories, turn up the volume and sit tight, we’re here to flip the script on that limited thinking and have you reaching for your Notes app.

TOPICS DISCUSSED

• Lucy’s experience participating in weekend writing residencies 

• The problematic public reactions to Jacinda Ardern’s resignation as Prime Minister of New Zealand

• Our charge as mothers to change old narratives for the sake of our children and future generations

• Building resilience as a writer (and parent) in the face of rejection and the mess that comes with it 

• How to find the best stories “in plain sight” even when in the throes of parenting

• Lucy reads an excerpt from her story, “Kisses in the Sky” published in Motherscope’s online journal last September

ABOUT TODAY’S GUEST - LUCY BECKLEY

LUCY BECKLEY is a writer, poet and marketing consultant. Her writing and poetry has appeared in numerous independent magazines and books including Popshot Magazine, Strike Magazine, The Lit Platform, and Lionheart Magazine. She was shortlisted in the Renard Press New Beginnings Competition in 2021 and is currently working on her first poetry collection, Rainbows In Washing Lines. She has an MA in European Cultures, an MA in Professional Writing and is currently studying for a Postgraduate Certificate in Teaching Creative Writing at Cambridge University. 

Follow Lucy on Instagram and www.lucybeckley.com.

MOTHERHOOD IN THE WILD

In this week’s segment, we discuss the recent BBC News article about Jacinda Ardern’s resignation, of which the headline originally read: Jacinda Ardern resigns: Can women really have it all?

WRITING PROMPT

Spend five minutes looking out a window in your home. Take in what you see and notice happening on the other side of the glass. Record your observations by journaling for another five to ten more minutes.

• CLICK HERE TO READ A RAW, UNEDITED TRANSCRIPT OF THIS EPISODE

  Jackie Leonard 00:00
  You're listening to Mother writer, a podcast by mother scope. I'm your host Jackie Leonard, a lifelong writer and mother of two. each week's episode will focus on the uniquely challenging and powerful dance of writing while mothering with a mix of Scylla hosted and guests episodes, you'll walk away with actionable takeaways, recommendations and prompts the light of fire in you to write, share your story and proudly call yourself a mother writer. Today's mother writer is Lucy Begley, a writer, poet and marketing consultant based in Cornwall in the UK. As a regular contributor to Mother scope over the past year, I've grown to be an immense fan of Lucy's beautiful writing and the way she strings together a seemingly simple moment with profound insight and validating conclusions. In this episode, Lucy walks us through her own process of reframing the mundane as marvelous and shares the steps she takes to find stories hidden in plain sight. At the end of this episode, Lucy lets us in on our current writing project, and also reads an excerpt from her story kisses in the sky. If you're a mother who finds yourself second guessing about the worthiness of your stories, turn up the volume and sit tight. We're here to flip the script on that limited thinking and have you reaching for your notes app. Hi, Lucy, welcome to the podcast. Hi, Jackie, thank you for having me. It's so fun to get to speak with you. I always say this when I have somebody on that I haven't conversed with in this way before, but I'm really looking forward to chatting in this way since you've been a contributor over the past year, and I've just been itching to hear more about your writing.
  
  01:52
  Oh, thank you so much for having me. And ya know, it's so lovely to connect in this virtual village. And rather than sending high emojis or little snippets of messages, it's just Yeah, lovely to speak face.
  
  Jackie Leonard 02:06
  Yes. And for people who don't know you, can you please share a little bit about yourself before we get started? Sure.
  
  02:14
  Thank you. So my name is Lucy Beckley. I am based in the UK in Cornwall. I was originally born in London, but then grew up in Cornwall, and then I've had a kind of regularly way of moving through a number of countries. And ended up back in Cornwall, kind of by London, Berlin and Lisbon. And I am a writer, poet. I do marketing consultancy, as well. And I'm just in the midst of a bucket schools, perpetual students. So I'm just studying for a postgraduate certificate in teaching creative writing, which has been really exciting. And I've got two kids who keep me exceptionally busy. So I've got a son who is nine and a daughter who's seven. And yeah, we live in Cornwall down the end of the country down. So
  
  Jackie Leonard 03:17
  I find that writers that we tend to enjoy learning so much that we do find opportunities to learn whenever we can, right?
  
  03:25
  Absolutely, yeah, no, I love it. And I did a Masters last year, the pandemic for me really kind of threw everything up in the air. And I just thought actually, I've always wanted to write but I and I have always written but I never felt that I had really challenged myself. So I started an MA in pharma and just wanted to keep going and then saw this course in teaching creative writing at Cambridge. And it's the most amazing experience. It's like three residential weekends. So it's the most joyful weekends that you go in residence. And this year, weirdly, is all it's an all female cohort. So it's this magical alchemy of women coming together to talk about creative writing, or passion. So yeah, I feel super lucky to be able to do Wow,
  
  Jackie Leonard 04:23
  I'm gonna have to have you on again to talk about that experience. Because there that's your sounds. I mean, I think you use the word magical that sounds magical to be able to actually like remove, like go somewhere and focus entirely on writing, even for a short span of time.
  
  04:39
  And kind of giving yourself permission I only literally in the last few years have been felt that I've been able to do it and I think the women is so hard. Like there's so much in society tells you that that conditioning we just systems in place systemic issues that don't allow You have the space or time and yet, you know, specifically when thinking about other writers, motherhood can be the most amazing reIative time, but actually having that time to focus that creativity and to channel that energy that kind of, I don't know it comes bubbling out is so hard. And, you know, that's why I love my escape and all these amazing other communities that are popping up throughout the world, you know, and going to, you know, what, actually, we are going to make the space and we are going to make the time and it'll be on our terms and on our rules. And I sorry, there's
  
  Jackie Leonard 05:37
  no, no. On that sandbox, I was gonna say anybody listening, who's been like thinking about signing up for a class or eyeing, you know, the community letter that has, you know, an upcoming workshop or whatever, like, this is your sign to go out and do it. I've been so inspired by like stories like you've shared and other people in our community who sign up for an art class or a drawing class or a writing course, in the midst of mothering in the midst of their other writing projects in the midst of their work, because it's calling to them, and they find the time we find the time when we just say yes, and do it, and we'll figure it out later kind of thing.
  
  06:17
  Absolutely. And you know, there's an amazing power in the, yeah, well, beyond bedtime, I think it's so easy to get caught up in the day to day and not be able to see beyond the routines beyond to do this beyond whatever and just finding that little pocket of space. And it doesn't even, you know, for me, my writing practice has evolved massively, and my expectations related that to that, as well have evolved, as I've learned and realize that it's actually just finding a rhythm and even 15 minutes a day doesn't mean that I have to write for 15 minutes, but it's spending that time and, you know, paying attention to some, something that, you know, can bring you joy and lift you up in amongst the main mundane and the monotony, and the Yeah, day to day that can get really quite overwhelming.
  
  Jackie Leonard 07:14
  And you have a real gift for highlighting, making beautiful what can seem very mundane. And that's really going to be the core of what we talk about today. But before we get into that, I love that we've hit the ground running and I'm really stimulated by worth talking about but I equally want to get into our motherhood in the wild segments, you notice something recently pop up in the news that you wanted to bring to the conversation.
  
  07:40
  Yeah, so just into our Arden resignations. So the BBC News came up with this truly horrendous, a headline saying Jacinda Arden resigns. Can women really have it all? And it just, yeah, my heart dropped reading it because it's so 60s is so it's just so it typifies that kind of attitude and the pressure that is put upon women to try and do it all. And the BBC, subsequently then took the headline and the tweet associated with it down, noticing their glaring mistake, but it just, yeah, again, I think it goes back to what really women being recognized for being these multifaceted, amazing beings who are capable of so much but not having the systems in place to support that and not valuing it. And it made me furious because I thought, you know, what, if they said commend really have it all, you know, if if the question was flipped, how would that be received? And yet, we're here in 2023. And these sexist and misogynistic attitudes are still pervading, still, you know, childcare in this country and across the world. There are not the systems really in place to support women and even the pandemic that the kind of invisible load that women have had to take on. as well. It just is, oh, it just makes my blood boil. And as a woman who wants to model to my own children that I am following my dreams, I am following my passions, but actually, we need to make a change. We need to break the cycle. We need to show them that actually, we all need to put together men need to be involved more there needs to be a shake up of the systems that enable men and So, yeah. Yeah, I don't have any answers to be honest. But it just, yeah, it was one of those standout articles that Yeah. Makes makes me want to channel my rage in theory but feeling again quite helpless and yeah, I'm sure.
  
  Jackie Leonard 10:30
  Yeah, well that's the point of this segment, right it's like we see something that like you said it like stopped you in your tracks and you're just like I don't know what to do with this but this is infuriating and frustrating. I, for people who don't know Jacinda Arden is a new the Prime Minister, Prime Minister of New Zealand, and she has been for many years now. And she decided that it was time to step step down, she said she didn't, from what I remember, it didn't have it in her to go up to keep going another term, which is commendable. And I also think it's a feminine quality to like know your limits. Because I think there are many male, you know, leaders out there in the world that probably could have benefited from stepping down when they didn't have it in them that do not,
  
  11:15
  do not. Yeah. And she said, I'm a human. And for me, it was like that is that level of openness and humility? And I think, yeah, I mean, the media, particularly in this country are always going to seek the kind of click Beatty headline to attract outrage, they want to divide, they want to cause outrage, they want to ruffle feathers, and, you know, get more clicks really. And it just but it's just, yeah, it really to think that the BBC, who should be kind of this lighthouse of, yes. Reportedly, on bias journalism, it just Yeah, it kind of really made me take my breath. And yeah, and I think, as a writer, it's that like, well, how can I change that? How can I change the story? How can I change the narrative? How can we, as mothers, change the narratives that are, you know, the generations of our children who are growing up in this world where, you know, they are facing so many challenges that, you know, many of which we are unaware, really what will unfold? And how can you create a space for them to feel that their voices heard, and again, it goes back to that, you know, mothers, as writers, and that, you know, making sure that their stories are heard, making sure that we elevate those around us to, you know, tell it how it is to kind of draw back the veil a bit. And actually, be honest, I was reading in preparation for this, you know, another study about, you know, the impact of the work from home, and there's a kind of gender work from home gap, in that women are taking on, even though we're, you know, working from home, we're also bearing the invisible load of running the house on top of working from home. And there was a study in the UK in November around, you know, first time mothers expectations and, and the stories that they were told, and not, you know, the surprise that how lonely motherhood is today. So, yeah, it's it is so important that we tell the stories of mothers that we bring them up and that we bring them up in a really diverse and colorful way so that all voices are heard, because there's so much new ones, and there's so much beyond just the headline.
  
  Jackie Leonard 14:11
  I think sometimes we're missing the personalization, like, I think with Jacinda, she, you know, she spoke to her own, you know, limit what she perceives to be like her own limitations, her own humanity and saying, like, I I've done so much already, and I'm ready to step down and do something else. And I even noticed that myself might, you know, my own judgment creeping a little bit. So I was like, oh, no, like she because I knew what it what the impressions would be. And then I thought, we hold other, you know, noteworthy women and leadership figures at such a high standard, because we want to show the world what we're capable of. But, you know, I caught myself and I thought, well, this is actually the best thing to model. And yeah, you know, like you said the babies See, and some other places were turning the conversation into? Well, look, see women can have it all kind of situation. But I think and I think professionally too, we have those same sort of like depersonalized impressions of what it takes to be successful. And part of why with another writer, I wanted to bring in writers and just have as talking about writing, while we mother, I wanted to, to make it seem more realistic to be able to do the things we want to do. And I think so many times when I personally see somebody who's published or accomplished as a writer out there, I'm like, how do they do it? I don't understand. It just seems like such a, there's such a wall there that I can't see through or figure out how it would work for me. And so these conversations are so important for that, that reasons that you're speaking to.
  
  15:52
  Yeah, and I think yeah, particularly with writing is like motherhood is such a solitary pursuit. And it, you know, you Well, personally, for me, but everything was published, there's 2030 rejections behind that one thing that does get published. And, you know, it's so difficult to talk about rejection, I think, and not necessarily, you know, the masters that I did was very much focused on publishing, but didn't give you all equip you with the tools to actually build resilience, because that's, I think, a huge thing that you need, as a writer, as a parent, is to just keep going, because you are in the company of your own words for a very, very long time. And finding comfort finding a community beyond that is so important. You know, behind every book, there's a whole team, there's a whole, you know, the pilot tears, there's a whole, you know, Blood Sweat Tears, there's not just that finished final complete manuscript, there's all the shitty first drafts and different iterations that went through. But, you know, we don't talk about the iceberg. And yeah, we should be sharing all that that is behind. But again, it's yeah, it's a it's a it's a funny old world to be a writer right now, I think. And it. On the one hand, I don't think there's ever been many, you know, as many opportunities perhaps, too, in terms of like self publishing, or even getting your work out there in to different smaller outlets or public outlets, I think. Yeah, there. But equally, it's having that transparency and being able to actually talk about things and because, you know, writing is so personal, it's difficult to kind of separate that emotion sometimes. And so, yeah, it's, but I love it, and I still keep doing it.
  
  Jackie Leonard 17:55
  Yeah. This is a great opportunity to hear a little bit I would welcome you to share. How did you become come to be a writer? What, When did your writing journey start?
  
  18:09
  So it's kind of from when I was tiny, really. So I always wrote poetry, and poetry really has been this kind of solace. And I will cloud gap for me, that space to just put down on the page, where it's vitamins. And then yeah, I kind of left it for a while and didn't really write kind of AJ team until kind of in my late 20s. Really. Just yeah. Finding myself and doing lots of travel and then really becoming a mother of woke this well, and burst of Yeah, creativity and time when I had so much time then in my head, you know, not day to day, dealing with tiny babies all consuming and overwhelming. But there was so much time spent in my head that trying to just go through that myriad of emotions and I had we had our kids in violin, so I was kind of in a different culture, different country and just trying to work out and understand how to bring up a baby from home was Yeah, writing became this kind of, yeah, solace again, and place that I would go to and then yeah, through the mists of motherhood, it's really, I mean, strangely, I have always written really because in my work that my throughout my career, I've always worked in marketing communication, but it was always kind of marketing copy or ghost writing, or Yeah, doing newsletters or socials for other companies. So, there has always been this thread of words in my work, but it's only really I suppose, in the past. Yeah. Nine years since my son was born that I have gone actually, this is something that brings me so much joy, although it's hard, and it's something that I need. And I think it's like, yeah, being able to say, now I need this as part of my life, I need this as my, you know, it gives me so much joy in it. You know, often it isn't necessarily about writing, because I'm planning to be published, but just the very act of writing itself, gives me that space. And that time, and I would encourage anyone, I think there's a writer within everyone. I just think the power of writing is just, yeah, pure alchemy and magic.
  
  Jackie Leonard 20:55
  A past guests spoke to the fact that just somebody who has a curiosity and notice things in the world is a writer. Because that's really what it takes to be a writer. Absolutely.
  
  21:07
  Yeah, yeah. And you don't need much, you don't need anything fancy. You need a pen and a paper and a moment of stillness. It's kind of all in front of you. And I think, for me as well, motherhood, you know, it brings this kind of jarring, shuddering, like, not stillness, but there is a moment in your life where you just have to go with it. And the hours, whether it's the, you know, hours spent rocking a baby to sleep at night that, you know, it may even be within the repetitive action, things open again. But that way of settling and sifting out my thoughts, then kind of came pouring out onto the page. And like you say, it's just paying attention, I think Mary Oliver says, yeah, like, attention is like a form of devotion. And that is, you know, is that, that that taking a breath, and the noticing the beauty and the every day and being able to share that with others. And it's just, yeah, it's kind of you catch a breath, and you bring stuff to the surface that perhaps would otherwise just sit in your head and having that physical activate being on the page, and it turning into something is just, yeah, so empowering as well. Because even if you don't do anything with this, then it's out and it's on the page. And it is something that perhaps you want to come back to the number of poem or lines of poems that have come to me just as I finally got my daughter to sleep, and I'm like, I must remember that I'm known for that. And my notes app is just full of scraps. And yeah, kind of thought ribbons that are, I can then pick up at a later date.
  
  Jackie Leonard 23:01
  The notes app is such a amazing tool. And for any mom out there, whether you're you know, you have a newborn to you know, speedy toddler, the Notes app is just essential.
  
  23:15
  Absolutely. Yeah. And it's just yeah, or even just recording voice notes. Like sometimes when I'm out working just Yeah, although I really do like the sound of my voice just. Yeah. For me, the act of working this, yeah. So many lines that I've kind of written whilst walking it in my head. And yeah, being able to grab your phone and record them in some way is so helpful.
  
  Jackie Leonard 23:41
  You know, you I've become such a fan of your writing because you are a regular contributor for Mother's scope. And I've also gotten to see you share your work through social media and you have just such a I think I spoke to this beginning just an ability to see the beauty. You know, we're talking about the things we noticed, but you see the beauty in the world as it exists for us often, which can seem very mundane or repetitive, like you shared. You know, where do you find the best stories in this state of living? Or where did you find them as a new mom
  
  24:19
  often stood up my kitchen window. I know it sounds really weird. But so we spend the majority locked down in Lisbon. So we we moved down to Cornwall, and then my husband worked his way to Lisbon. And we were all confined in a flat and we were the locks down in Portugal were really, really, really strict. And the kitchen became a kind of little sanctuary where I could just go and hide from the tensions and the Zoom calls the virtual school the Lego that had been sweating across the floor? And, yeah, there's something so powerful about looking at a window, and just really noticing, and taking in that, which is around you, and I think, definitely locked down for me was it was a real pivotal moment in terms of changing my mindset around how I could feel about things and what I could pay attention to. And how that would. Yeah, have an impact on how I was feeling because it was yeah, just Yeah, well, collective time just complete and absolute wildness for everyone. And, yeah, it my window, became this magical moment of fear watching the swallows that would die in and out of there, there was a dilapidated building at the back of our flat, and it was in swallows that lived in a roof. Or watching the old lady who will be hanging out her washing or watching the couple. In the flat office, they're going about their day to day, I mean, I sound a bit weird, but it just that are an act of just taking in that which is going on, immediately around you. And gave me a sense of solace, as well as like, all life is here. In you know, even beyond the four walls. And now in my day, today, it's just about really, yeah, being intentionally present, I think there's so much distraction, and it's so easy to get caught up in the distractions of today. And particularly, as a mother you are, you know, your days are full on and busy in the To Do Lists bold, and the expectations. And for me, the perfectionism kind of rears its ugly head, and it's just literally taking a moment. And watching the sunrise and where we live, you can kind of follow the sun around our house, it's really beautiful. But you know, that wasn't always the case. When we first moved here, the babies were tiny, and I would disappear. At night into bed, the minute they were in bed, I would go to bed. But now they're that much older, it is about being able to see the sunrise and see the sunset and actually see the stars. And yeah, just the very magic in that being live and just appreciating that. Because I think yeah, everyday joy is so important to kind of back to win. And there's so much pressure these days to have the big, you know, success criteria that is huge. And, you know, in the context of writing, whether it's, you know, your book being published, or whatever, but actually, it's the small wins. And if that incremental steps, a book isn't made in the day, it's labored over and you know, a poem isn't written in the day often, for me, it's spread out over weeks, months sometimes, and having those little pockets of moments where I actually go, You know what, I liked the sound of that, or that, you know, image, I really want to grab hold of that image and keep it and even if you're just holding it, in your notes up on a scribbled post a note on your desk, it's having those reminders. Yeah, to keep going as well. It offers such a beautiful and quite powerful. Yeah, boost really in terms of, you know, keeping you going on your way I love to make kind of joy lists and or small pleasures lists. And just, yeah, remind myself what what is what actually brings me joy. What actually, you know, where am I happy is it you know, having the first cup of coffee in the morning uninterrupted? Is it you know, listening to my daughter as her breath finally slows and she finally gets into sleep? Is it watching my son read a book in the corner curled up and watch what he does with his hand? You know, those are the moments but I think we can get so distracted. And yeah, I think social media has a lot to do with it. So that kind of like fear of missing out and there were when actually, sometimes and particularly in the context of motherhood, it's slowing it down to the very small because there are gonna be days when things are huge and big and exhausting and overwhelming and the Tantrums are just gonna reach whatever or the laundry piles is gonna fall out. I mean, yeah, mine's overflowing today. But but it is yeah. Finding that space and that moment for you really as well, because I think we, I know, I certainly set my expectations of my mothering up on a ridiculously high pedestal that, yeah, I can't ever.
  
  Jackie Leonard 30:27
  But I think when we the acts that you're talking about that go into writing in this way, where we can notice some of the best stories that are right in front of us. And when we, we talked about intention, and presence and noticing all of those actions are very passive, but they allow us to, you know, appreciate, like you said, are the things we enjoy about our children, about the lives that we have right now, not, you know, what we're fantasizing about, or comparing ourselves to. And so I've noticed that myself when I journal in this way, and I just focus on one thing or look around me, and then I read back on it, and like, oh, wow, like, you know, I did do that, or, Oh, I do love that. And it really is a sort of gratitude practice that is also helping our writing that's enhancing our lives, it's doing so many different things. To just make us better people, better writers, better mothers, better citizens noticing, you know, like you said, looking out the window. And whether we're inventing stories, or just writing what we see. It's out there. And I think we, the other distractions, I think that we're exposed to our thinking that we need to have some, like, super intense story, to be able to write about it or something, you know, traumatic or, you know, soup, like just amazing happened to us that makes it interesting. And sometimes it's the most simply, you know, simple action that's just written in a beautiful way that really draws people and it feels like a very subversive, rebellious way to write that I think, is needed.
  
  32:13
  Absolutely. And I mean, I am all one for like a gripping crime thriller that you can get completely. Yeah, lost him. But I think there's so much power in bringing those every day often overlooked feelings, you know, it could be the shape of absence of a partner who's gone away for a few days. And that, you know, recognizing that, oh, you know, my husband travels an awful lot. And we are, yeah, always back and forth and hand children over back and forth. And yeah, readjusting and recalibrating each time he comes back, but it's just yeah, noticing that the party each time, and even though it's a really frequent, and, you know, it's very normalized in how we live our life as a family. That in itself is just Yeah, paying a bit of attention to that feeling. Or it is, yeah, just having a really amazing and uplifting conversation with a friend that I as a mother, you know, as someone who's moved so frequently, I have amazing friends, but they're kind of spread across the world. And having even just a 20 minute catch up, or exchange on WhatsApp is just so lovely. And it's, I think, yeah, like you say, it's just bringing it back in a little bit. And motherhood, I think, offers also a massive opportunity, because the days are so long, but the years are so short to kind of use that cliche, but the time spent in your head is often Yeah, this vast expanding horizon and the changes that happen and the kind of shape shifting that you have to do into your motherhood is just, yeah, it's kind of relentless and constant. And, for me, I think writing acts as a way of reminding myself of all those little moments because, you know, the milestones, the children just get bigger and bigger and bigger. And that small hand that once fitted in my palm is now you know, boy, who's nearly at my shoulders and gonna be towering over me very soon. And I'm like, I can't let go that yeah, I don't want to agree that moment just yet. I don't want to let go of that. So yeah, writing, you know, writing about those small things in a way does capture that. Yeah. The bits that I do want to hold on to or want to remember and even the dark bits, you know, sometimes it's so powerful and just being able to kind of leave that on paid and, and just let that be for a while, and then look back maybe when you're ready to see how far you've come and that there is a bit of light at the end.
  
  Jackie Leonard 35:11
  Yeah, I always say that, you know, I love pictures, I love videos. But I just feel like when you can sit down and write down, you know, to describe the mannerisms or the way that you talked or something, there's nothing like it, there's nothing that capture it. And it's really is it's, it's a way of preserving memory at moments that are very fleeting, that that go away that you will forget as much as you don't think you will. And they're just such treasures I, you know, for anybody, even people who don't have a desire to write beyond their journal, those that kind of recording that kind of practice, I feel like it's just so beautiful, not just for our children, but for ourselves, or relationships or family members. It applies to everyone, but motherhood, like you said it, it forces you to sort of notice time in a different way.
  
  36:09
  Yeah, and I think you can get distracted and so much of it, so much of it can be overlooked or hidden. Be that through, you know, some social media filter or gaze that you want to put or projects on your line. Or just that it's just too much. And it's just so having that, like you say, as a record is just, yeah, a lovely way to not only process it, but yeah, kind of keep it as a memory.
  
  Jackie Leonard 36:41
  That reminds me, I, I was on your website. And I saw I wrote down a line that you said that stuck out stood out to me, you wrote that you believe the best stories are hidden away in plain sight. And I just thought that was a really lovely way to say that our lives have are filled with so much that we can pull from and that inspiration is endless, as long as we play detective a little bit and just take in our surroundings.
  
  37:15
  Absolutely. And it's just yeah, by me even in the most mundane of tasks, or journeys, you know, just Yeah. Looking, glancing to the side or above or below, you know, it's so easy to be kind of fixed straight ahead. And then the minute you look up, you'll notice something's gone. Or you will notice the person sitting next to you on the bus and wonder neighbor, what are they thinking today? And what is it that? You know, they're what what does their day look like for them? Yeah, as you say, there's inspiration is endless. And I think, again, like, as a writer, it's it. It's like this holy grail of finding a style or trying to find inspiration. But I am such a believer in that it. It's all there. And it's just about finding that kindling, and that spark to kind of start that fire. And, you know, even if it's just a word, even if it's just a line, it is a line that you've overheard on the bus, there is a prompt there in lies a story behind that line or behind that conversation.
  
  Jackie Leonard 38:29
  I'm curious, are you currently working on anything any new project or book an app been for you?
  
  38:39
  Yes, I'm working on narrative nonfiction. But so I went to my MA with a novel that I've been kind of sat on for the past four years. And then I ended up not really following through on the novel, I thought I was gonna finish the novel. And then I yeah, I'm writing a story about the house that we live in. So there's a kind of 700 year history associated with the house that we live in and kind of exploring who's lived here. So there was actually a writer who was born in the house in 1342. And then just tracing the Everyday Stories of all the families who've lived here over the years. And weaving in a bit of my own story about coming home and what it means to live in a house that's kind of had so many families lives live under one roof and what is home what how is it something that you hold in your heart is it you know, the four walls and kind of Yeah, finding my way through the mists of early motherhood and trying to settle so yeah, I'm still working on it.
  
  Jackie Leonard 39:52
  Ever Working Title I don't mean to put you on the spot but um, yeah, be keeping that to yourself for now.
  
  40:02
  Oh, no. No when swallows return, so yeah, it's usually the theme of. Yeah, it's what because we have swallows who live who kind of come back and we start my in and around the house and live in the outbuildings. And living in Lisbon. There were swallows who lived in this. Yeah. dilapidated house opposite. And yeah, kind of using that as an image of kind of going away and then returning to the same home again. And yeah, Cornwall was a place where I didn't think I would return to I left here when I was 18. And ran as fast as I could to London and didn't look back for a while, and then came back and then got pulled away again. So yeah, it's, yeah, we'll see how it goes. I'm hoping to kind of have it finished by the end of this year. That's my aim. But it's Yeah, evolved. And I think that yeah, having a bit of an openness to how projects evolve, but all my planning and plotting, it's kind of gone out the window. And that's the beauty of a book when you have lots of historical research to uncover, there's Yeah, so many twists and turns that has, that this journey of writing that particular book has taken me that I'm kind of just yet going with it for the moment and seeing where it will go.
  
  Jackie Leonard 41:22
  Well, for what it's worth, I find that subject matter fascinating. And I wanted to bring it up because it at just a little bit that you have shared, it really does reflect what you've been talking about noticing and just, you know, using your surroundings, your literal home to talk about things that will speak to a universal audience. And I It's so neat. And rent reminds me of a series of poems that I just published this month through another scope by another contributor, Krystal James talks about living in her mother's home. So it really speaks to that. And I was just sort of chuckling to myself. Yeah, it speaks, it made me chuckle a little bit, because I often am reminded of how young the United States is compared to other parts of the world where we don't have homes that old, at least not ones that, you know, are structural. And so yeah, just I just find that fascinating, but also something that resonates so much. And I think when we write stories that feel very simple to us, or very mundane, to use that word, we end up tapping into a larger audience, because we're speaking to things that everybody else is doing. And that doesn't hear these stories very often. So it's a very, it's a good quality to be able to write in this subject matter. And it's not it's not easy, but But it's accessible. Yeah. Before we go, Lucy, I would love to invite you if you may to share some of your writing with us. Of
  
  43:05
  course. And so this is kisses in the sky, which appeared on the blog. Yeah. September last year. Kisses in the sky. Are you still there? I say the line crackles Hello. Are you still there? I repeat louder than necessary to my husband over the phone. Frustration plumes above me like Cloud trails are conversations stumbles and stutters as the line falters and then drops over 3200 mile stretch between us and the degrees of separation widen with the completely different realities that we have each face that week. These are the days they enjoy them while you can they say you only have 18 summers with your children, they say enjoy them while you can. Yet these are the busiest days of my life. And quite frankly, there are times when I really don't enjoy them at all. My age bracket means that I'm now a member of the sandwich generation where the perfect storm of responsibilities collide. The make or break time when a marriage can often reach its wall moment as the fine art an act of balancing caring for others tending to relationships and sowing the seeds of the future all tangled and merged together. But as with my whole journey as a parent so far, I find I'm yet again, ill prepared and unsure how to navigate this particular season of mothering, caring for others, attempting to be a friend and genuinely trying to be a grown up.
  
  Jackie Leonard 44:48
  That was lovely. Lucy. Thank you and for anybody that wants to finish reading this beautiful story. I will link it in the show notes that appeared on mother's sculpture and all like Lucy said back in September, and Lucy, how can people connect with you and read more of your work?
  
  45:07
  So I'm, I have my website, Lisa becky.com. And I'm on Instagram, Lucy, a Beckley and I'm on Twitter under DC Bekijk. But I'm not really there on Instagram really to be honest,
  
  Jackie Leonard 45:25
  yeah. And I want to actually encourage people to check out your website, because I just for the sake of time, we won't get into it too much. But I really want to spotlight and encourage other writers out there to have a website and share their writing, share the pieces that have been published, the projects that we're working on, I think you do an amazing job with your website and highlighting what you do and who you are. And, and it motivated me to finally I've been wanting to do that for a long time. And so if anybody wants, like a exemplar of the kind of website you should have, I think you did a really great job with it.
  
  46:03
  Well, thank you very much. It was just Yeah. Yeah, messing about with words, but WordPress, to be honest.
  
  Jackie Leonard 46:12
  Yeah, there's so many resources, it makes it really,
  
  46:15
  yeah, they've got some good templates. So if I can do it, I think anyone can.
  
  Jackie Leonard 46:22
  While Lucy, thank you for the amazing conversation, I think this is going to be one that really inspires people to just look around and take notice of what's in front of them and writes, and thank you for sharing your words. And just a little bit about who you are as a writer. I really appreciate it this conversation.
  
  46:39
  Thank you so much for having me, it's been lovely.
  
  Jackie Leonard 46:44
  As always, this week's writing prompt is based on the episodes conversation and I can't help but get the image of Lucy looking at her kitchen window out of my head. So I am using that in our writing prompts. This week's writing prompt is spend five minutes looking out a window in your home. Take in what you see and notice happening on the other side of the glass. record your observations by journaling for another five to 10 more minutes thanks so much for listening to Mother writer. My hope is that you walk away from this episode feeling a little bit seen inspired to write and ready to proudly call yourself a mother writer. If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to leave us a review. And if you're looking for more support on your writing journey, come join us inside the mother scope writers club, a weekly membership for our community of moms who right just like you learn more at Mother scope.com