WOTM: An Interview with Lila (night.light.soul)

30 NOVEMBER 2020

The Writer of the Month Project is a revised segment of The Plain Poets that looks into what makes a writer, be it their craft or ideas. At the end of every month, we will be conducting an interview with a selected writer, and we’ll be diving into their muses, their writing history and much more.

For our first Writer of the Month Project, we decided to recycle an old interview with Lila, commonly known as @night.light.soul on Instagram. Based in the United Kingdom, Lila has been regarded as a marvellous writer by her readers, with vivid, storytelling pieces that deeply reflect her life. Lila was interviewed by fellow writers @nosxchthing_ and @bullshitserved and I would like to thank them for conducting this interview. I would also like to thank all the writers who submitted questions too.

The first part of the interview looked at Lila’s beginnings as a writer. When asked about what inspires her to write, Lila reveals that she has been writing since the tender age of 10. Much of her inspiration comes from her life, truly. From what was originally a method of personal catharsis, her poems now have evolved into a means of connecting to and with readers who experienced the same form of pain - the physical conditions - as Lila did. People are what inspires her, especially the thought of being there for people and making them feel less lonely with her work.

On that note, her first poem on the Internet was Skeletons but as the years went by, she gradually grew out of it. In the span of two to three years, her writing styles have shifted significantly, which is a thing I relate to since I’m a writer myself. However, she claims that “I do kind of like it in a weird way. It’s very reminiscent of - like the compilation books I was reading in primary school.” These are her thoughts on her first poem.

Moving on to the next question, we interviewed Lila on what she loves and hates about being a writer. As she briefly describes the process of writing and finishing her first book in March, she goes into elaborate detail of comparing her craft to the sensation of taking a drug. “The feeling I got when I was typing the words at the end- it’s like I had taken just every drug ever, it was insane,” she tells the interviewers, “my heart was racing and I was kind of crying and that feeling, that adrenaline rush of having created something, having meaning and it affecting someone - it’s a bit macabre, but every time someone cries at something I write, that feels like it really cements why I want to be a writer because the idea of being able to have that effect on and that connection with another person, it feels really special and like something someone else maybe couldn’t achieve in the same way?”

In contrast, when she reveals what she hates about being a writer, she gives us two adjectives: hard and frustrating. As much as you love your own craft and the time you dedicate yourself into the said craft, there’s always going to be someone who’s going to criticise your craft. “About 2 years ago I did a lot of research into creative writing, and someone told me that I need to start cutting adverbs,” she confesses, “and it was at that point that I learned that I really like adverbs.”

Considering the millions of words they know and use in one lifetime, a creative writer is bound to have a legacy by the time they perish. They would want to be remembered solely for the things they speak and write. What does Lila think of it? Though Lila claims this question is rather deep, her answers prove to be the opposite. To simply put this, she wants to be remembered for her kindness, not just her words. In addition to that, she wants to be remembered for the kindness she’s shown to herself, and to other people, especially in the way she interacted with them, be it a stranger on the street or her family. The thought of living in oblivion and mediocrity used to “terrify” her as a child because she had been conditioned to think that way; that we were born into this world solely to become someone important. But perhaps there is better importance to lead a life in helping others live their lives.

Instagram has honestly grown to be more than just a platform for pictures and videos. Today, we see a lot of entrepreneurs and businesses grazing the timelines, as well as a bunch of creators like artists and writers. As a writer on Instagram, we had to ask her what she thought about the application as a writing platform. This is what she had to say.

Surprisingly, the platform was not actually her first option in the beginning, but with so many writing platforms saturated by fanfiction (hey Wattpad), Instagram could suffice as a feasible option. Lila also acknowledges that social media platforms like Instagram don’t really cater to writers, but then again, the world isn’t adapted to house the arts since society tends to prioritise the more practical things in life, like science. It baffles her that creatives have to fight for a chance to be remembered, let alone be known, even though it is the Arts that makes our lives whole.

Besides Instagram, we asked Lila if she has any ongoing projects right now. Safe to say, she’s a pretty busy writer who has a lot on her plate right now, but she loves it anyway. Other than working on her second book, she’s editing a poetry collection as well. She’s also creating content for her newsletter, which you can check out here. There’s also her Wattpad, where she posts fiction. Besides poetry, she’s also diving into the world of songwriting with Lucy, and she claims that she’s written 3 songs prior to this interview. Go, Lila! Anyway, if you want to know more about her songwriting abilities, here you go. This also answers where you can find her other work and projects.

On the topic of genres and content curation, Lila claims that she does contemporary and literary fiction (and poetry). Her work is heavily influenced by the likes of Sylvia Plath, Ocean Vuong and Richard Siken. Content-wise, she adores poetry and fiction. She does not follow the modern short styles of many Instagram poets these days, but her work does have a romantic edge to them.

To complete the whole interview, we asked possibly the biggest facet; the most important part of every writer - the message. Lila (or night.light.soul) is fascinated by the themes of youth in the modern age, living life and human connection, as represented by her works, Daughter and Fairy Lights in the Ambulance.

You can read more about our interview here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1xgneZfjd-41CR7Q6BxCc9ynd7g-Q4M0D/view?usp=sharing

Here at The Plain Poets, we aim to identify these unique poets and writers and to put them on a pedestal via a platform everyone can support them. You may check out our page here.