York Literary Review: Indee Watson
Introducing Indee
From Pudsey, just outside Leeds, Indee Watson studied English Literature and Film Studies BA before progressing to studying a Creative Writing MA at York St John University. Since beginning studying with us, York has become just as much ‘home’ to Indee as where she grew up.
Who is your favourite author?
Tough question! Favourite author from childhood, Lemony Snicket. I’ve read A Series of Unfortunate Events every year since I was about 9. As for my favourite in my adulthood, I’m a big fan of all the famous gothics; Shelley, Stoker, Poe, Wilde….and of course Stephen King, being a huge horror fan.
What are you currently reading?
I’m currently reading Dune by Frank Herbert. Definitely something different for me.
What are your top 5 books you’d recommend?
- Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
- The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult
- Gerald’s Game by Stephen King
- The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
- Shutter Island by Dennis Lehand
What do you do in your spare time?
When I’m not busy working or writing you can find me playing instruments, reading, making films, dancing, drawing – anything creative! As well as entertaining my brothers, of course.
Where is your favourite place in York?
York is full of so many beautiful places, by the river is always a beautiful walk. I’m also a huge fan of the art gallery, and the shambles! All the old streets feel so homely and historical.
YSJ Questions:
Why did you choose to study at YSJ?
The minute I stepped inside the university for an open day I felt so comfortable and at home there. All the tutors I met were incredibly lovely, the city of York is of course amazing, and how can I forget being able to graduate in the minster!
How did the York Centre for Writing/ creative writing team help you develop your writing?
The creative writing team at YSJ have allowed my writing to develop so much throughout my masters. Workshopping and tutorials with these tutors have opened my eyes to so many different ways of writing, pushing my own writing in directions I’d never considered before. This has allowed me to grow so much as a writer just in the past year, and I know I’ll continue to through the rest of my masters.
Did you enjoy the workshopping available during creative writing seminars and is this something you continue to try to do now?
I love workshopping so much, to me it’s one of the best parts of the course. You get so much encouragement and useful feedback on your own writing, as well as getting the opportunity to read types of writing you maybe wouldn’t have outside of the workshop setting, and so you’re exposing yourself to much new writing to help inspire. This is definitely something that I do outside of university too, there are a handful of us who regularly send our writing to one another to give this useful feedback that we might not receive from somebody who isn’t in the creative writing field. In doing this, we’re all continuing to develop our writing so much. I’ve seen the most growth in my writing during my masters than I ever have done before.
What’s your favourite memory from your time studying with us?
My favourite memories are definitely the post-seminar drinks we go for after uni. After studying from home for so long we’ve all been making the most of seeing one another again!
What’s your favourite course-based memory from your time studying with us?
My entire Writing Fiction module in undergrad was a great memory, I was with such a great group of friends in that class who inspired me so much, and it’s the module that made me really realise my passion for writing! As soon as I took that class, I knew I wanted to pursue creative writing. So for that reason, it will always be one of my favourite times from university.
Where was your favourite place on campus?
Although I didn’t have many lessons in quad, that was such a beautiful place to wander through. I did a couple of societies in first year, which mostly all took place in quad so on sunny days we spent a lot of time sitting out on the grass together, making the most of the gorgeous weather and gorgeous building.
Writing Questions:
What sort of thing do you like to write? Please give as much or as little detail as you like.
I’m a huge fan of horror, so a lot of my short stories involve the dark and macabre. I love dark twists, body horror, unconventional character dynamics, and lots of bittersweet endings. My poetry is definitely a lot more light-hearted than that, looking a lot at scenery and landscapes. Although I’ve recently got into writing gothic poetry too, many religious and devilish undertones.
How did you find out about the York Literary Review and why did you submit work?
I found out about it through my tutor, who mentioned it to our class. The theme sounded really intriguing to me, so I started working on a poem straight away. It suited the theme well, so I thought there’s no harm in submitting and seeing what comes of it. Looking back, I’m very glad I did!
What did you submit, and did the team suggest any edits to it for the anthology?
I submitted a poem called Whalebones, inspired by the gorgeous landscape of Whitby, and the years of memories I have there. To my surprise, there were actually no edits suggested for this poem! That made me pretty proud.
How did you feel when they said they were publishing your submission? Did you celebrate?
I was overjoyed! I celebrated by writing some more poetry, it gave me a boost of confidence in my work which I wanted to make the most of!
What do you think of the anthology itself?
I think the anthology is spectacular, and the team who put it together have done such an amazing job. There’s such a range of work in there, each one so well thought out, so they accumulate into the most wonderful collection of writing.
Have you been published anywhere else?
Yes! I was published in Beyond the Walls with a short story earlier this year, and my poetry submissions have recently been accepted for Liminal Zine’s anthology and Greenteeth Press’ Yorkshire anthology, both of which will be coming out later this year.
Are there any publications you’d like to be published in?
At this point in my writing career I’m happy for any submissions, every one that gets accepted feels like a win to me. But I’d love to be published in something like Aesthetica Magazine, which has such big, worldwide events surrounding its creative contributors.
What’s your writing process? For example, do you plot everything first, only write after a cup of coffee, write for 15 minutes a day, get frequent workshopping etc.
With fiction, I’ll spend a lot of time over a short period working on something – the moment I get inspiration or get a new idea, it’s all I want to be doing. Following it, I’ll take a little break for a few days to let my mind sit on certain ideas. Poetry is a whole other process, often random sentences or concepts will come to mind so wherever I am, I’ll just pull my phone out and write them down so I don’t lose the idea. A lot of my poems have been written during random bouts of inspiration on the bus or the train!
Next steps:
Are you writing anything currently? If so, where do want the writing to ‘end up’?
I have a few projects on the go that I’ve been gradually working on for quite some time, the main one being a novel, the first I’ve ever attempted to write! Think horror, gore, and betrayal, with a little sapphic romance.
Do you work a ‘day job’ alongside your writing career? If so, what do you do and did your time at YSJ give you skills for the role?
I do, though it’s completely separate from my writing life so I’m hoping that after my masters, my skills developed during my time at YSJ will be able to lead me onto something in the creative writing field. Until then, I’ll continue to keep writing and submitting throughout the final year of my masters.
What’s your writing dream? For example, to publish a novel or poetry collection, have your work adapted for TV etc.
All of the above! I’d love to publish a novel, poetry collection and horror short story anthology! And I constantly imagine my stories as movies whilst I’m writing them, so to see my creations on the silver screen would be such a dream.
What are your next steps? For example, submitting to competitions or magazines, writing a novel manuscript.
My next steps are to keep doing what I’m doing; submitting work to all sort of magazines, anthologies and competitions, whilst ensuring I’m always working on new ideas and projects. I’d also love to have my horror collection finished by this time next year, so I can begin taking that to publishers and see where it takes me.
Do you have any writing advice you’d like to share?
My writing advice is to write everything; every idea you have, even slight murmurs of ideas – write them! The worst thing that could happen is you don’t like it. The best thing is it becomes something amazing. Also, submit to everything. There’s nothing to lose, and they might just accept your submission and allow your list of publications to build up. My final bit of advice is to never doubt what you do, always grow from the feedback you’re given, and always be willing to try writing new things.
If you’d like to keep updated with Indee’s writing, you can follow her on Twitter and Instagram. You can also check out her website.
Enjoyed this blog? Read the first in the series by Catherine Gent now.
