We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Margaret Watson a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Margaret, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

My most meaningful project to date was releasing my last collection of poetry, Pieces of Me.
As a domestic abuse survivor, I wanted to tell my story through my poetry.
Not for kudos or sympathy, but as part of the healing process and also to inspire others who have been in a similar situation.
I met my abuser when I was 28 ( I will be 58 in May).
I lost over a decade of my life because I was not strong enough to withstand the abuse I suffered at his hands.
Gaslighting was not a term I was familiar with back then.
It is very subtle, but insidious!
A gradual drip drip until your spirit is completely erased!
I am not healed, nor would I ever claim to be, but I am stronger for what I went through.
That said, no one should have to go through that!

Margaret, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I began writing at the start of the Pandemic in 2020.
I think we can all agree it was a very bad time ( especially for people who live on their own, like myself).
I wrote my feelings down on paper as a way of channelling my despair and isolation, a bit like journaling I guess.
In December 2020, “The Madness of Corona” was published ( by a publishing house.
As happy as I was to see my name on an Amazon listing, I was embarrassed when I read it (cringe worthy in fact).
I knew I could do better so, in 2021 I self-published my first Collection of Poetry, Me and My Shadow.
I also self-published another Collection, Once Upon A Time.
The writing in those still was not the best, but it was an improvement on the The Madness of Corona.
I think I was going for the achievement factor more than anything else.
Self-Publishing is not difficult, only time consuming.
A lot of writers won’t touch it though because they are scared of failure.
I would rather try and fail than keep my poems in notebooks and look back with regret when I am old!
Since 2021, I have self-published another four Collections of Poetry!
A Jar of Stars, In the Shadow of My Pen; A Collection of Poetry and Prose, Ephemeral Encounters; Her Book of Words and Pieces of Me.
I have also had my work included in four anthologies and published by Spillwords and other Literary Journals.
I was honoured to be part of the After Rain Skies Anthology curated by Michelle Ayon Najavas.
Michelle is someone who I admire greatly and of course she is a great advocate for anyone who has suffered abuse or trauma.
Being part of the WordPress community has brought the biggest improvement in my writing.
When you sit with the best of the best every day, you do have to raise your bar, or get left behind.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

I think resilience is something you gain and build after every defeat and disappointment.
I have never been a person who sits around feeling sorry for myself.
Perhaps I inherited it from my father ( he was a merchant seaman in world War 2 , part of the Russian convoys).
With regards to self-publishing, as I said, it is not difficult.
But, one manuscript does not fit all!
Each platform has different requirements and I do remember with one of my earliest Collections trying six times before Smashwords accepted it!

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

For me the juice is in the writing process itself ( I do find Writer’s block extremely frustrating!)
If I touch one heart or one soul with my words, then I have done my job properly!
I don’t write pretty poetry, I can’t.
My words come from my soul and my writing is very deep, often raw!
I write as I feel it!
I used to be afraid to post raw poetry, but not anymore!
Why deny what your soul is telling you to write!
I want my words to evoke something, but mostly to give hope to those who have been in a similar situation to me , so they know, you can come out the other side!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://poetrybymaggiewatson.uk/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sweetangelbutterfly
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCY-yZJI16OQR4_GnbZD7SqA
• Other: https://uk.pinterest.com/sweetangelbutterfly/

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