I collaborated with Bee Lilyjones and five others during 2025 in an international writing collective, ‘Lay it on the Line’. What I noticed about Bee’s writing is that she has the ability to make her readers slow down and inhabit the moment—I found myself taking a breath and sinking into an armchair to read her words. Wanting to know more about the way she approaches her craft, I asked if she’d share her thoughts.
The Ideal Reader
I asked Bee about her ideal reader. It’s the sort of question all writers should think about but it’s often difficult to put into words. Bee had no trouble. She said this is ‘someone who wants depth, and a slow Sunday read. I want to give them permission to be curious, to attend closely, to feel present—while discovering that their local histories matter.’
Then I asked what she hopes they’ll do differently after reading. She said, ‘Walk past a building, wonder who lived there, and go and find out.’
That’s the perfect scenario, isn’t it? If we can change how readers see place and make them curious, then we have done our work.
The Relief of Finding Your Form
Bee didn’t start as a place writer. For years, she assumed she’d write fiction. She secured an agent for a novel just before the pandemic, but something wasn’t working. Her central character kept becoming too much like herself—which fiction resists—and her drafts kept sliding into academic essay, ‘layering in research and careful argument when it needed scene and breath.’
Then came a phone call to her agent that changed everything.
‘When I called my agent to say I wanted to write non-fiction instead, she was marvellous about it. The relief was immediate,’ Bee said. ‘Non-fiction gave me permission to be both scholar and participant, to stand in the moment while weaving in historical research, ecological detail, genealogy. My closeness to the material became the method, not the problem.’
Thinking about this ‘closeness’, I wonder how many of us abandon projects because we think we are too close to the material? How do we introduce sufficient distance to write creatively? And, how often do we force a form that won’t hold what we need to say?
Bee had already invested years in her novel and she had professional validation—an agent. How many of us would love to be in her shoes? But she realised the form wasn’t right. Pivoting your story from fiction to non-fiction takes courage. But Bee trusted in what she wanted the work to look like; she knew that in another format, the words would come true.
This is part of a series of posts that link to my Home and Place Writing Author Library where you’ll find recommended writers you can follow and subscribe to on Substack—writers who are producing thoughtful writing on landscape, memory, and belonging.
The Craft of Layering Time
What Bee is working towards now is a book titled, Before We Leave: A Story of Two Gardeners Moving Home. It’s part memoir, part history, part ecological observation. She addresses two major questions: What does it mean to belong somewhere? What do we owe the places we leave?
To find answers requires considerable time in research. But the beauty of creative non-fiction is that the writer can contextualise the research in order to bring what is essentially a true story to the reader in a way that informs and entertains. The challenge is how to weave all the information into immediate sensory experience without ‘information dumping.’
‘If I’m writing in the first person and in immediate present tense,’ Bee explains, ‘I’m weaving historical research, genealogy, ecological detail... The challenge is keeping readers with me in the moment—standing in a churchyard searching for a grave, or feeling the floorboards creak in Tangy Mill—while also giving them the context they need.’
Her solution? ‘Make it sensory. Make the reader feel like they’re discovering it with the writer for the first time.’ This is a technical skill that lifts your writing from competent to exceptional.
Learning Points
Learning about Bee’s writing routine and watching her Substack evolve over two years, three practices stand out:
1. Read Everything Aloud
Bee reads every piece aloud, always. Not just for rhythm or awkward phrasing, but specifically ‘to structure my writing in the hope to slow the reader down.’ This isn’t about style—it’s about intention. She’s designing her sentences for a reader like me who wants to pause, to be present, to dwell rather than scroll.
2. Discovery, Not Delivery
Bee brings historical research into her text by way of discovery so we feel the same sense of excitement when we find it as she did originally. I remember my PhD supervisor suggesting to me to put the word ‘discover’ into my tool box because readers enjoy being with you when you find something new and exciting.
3. Trust the Long Arc
Bee has been on Substack for two years, and she’ll tell you it took that long to find her groove. ‘Like many, I’ve tried different approaches,’ she said. ‘My advice to would-be Substackers is never be afraid to change your business model.’
Now developing a video series ‘An Archive of Now’, and a radio-style podcast with her own ambient compositions and field recordings, Bee is thinking forward with her Substack with plans that will take time to implement.
What Does this mean for Your Practice as a Place Writer?
If you feel you might be too close to your subject matter, perhaps you’ve got totally engrossed in it, or you’re going down too many rabbit holes, take a step back. Leave it for a while before returning. Give yourself space so you can consider the material objectively.
If you want the reader to join you on your journey of discovery, bring in your facts with lots of unusual and specific information, and sensory detail.
If your goal is to slow down the reader, design your sentences and paragraphs to maintain a rhythm that is meditative rather than rushed. Read your work aloud to check the cadence.
Notes, Credits and Links:
Images: Photo of St Bega at Mirehouse, Bassenthwaite Lake by Alan Harris. (Creative Commons licence, CC BY-ND.) Portrait photo courtesy of Bee Lilyjones.
Subscribe to ‘Before We Leave with Bee Lilyjones and Friends.’
Find other Place Writers in the Library.
As always, I look forward to chatting in the comments!
Other posts in this series:
"'...to structure my writing in the hope to slow the reader down.' This isn’t about style—it’s about intention. She’s designing her sentences...to pause, to be present, to dwell rather than scroll."
Indeed, Yasmin. And that design is one of her many writing skills. I first came upon Bee's words when I saw her tagline, "Before We Leave."
I can still hardly say the three words without emotionally pausing. Like her essays, multi-dimensional layers.
I appreciate Bee’s slowing down in this ultrafast, get-there-quickly world. I envy that ability to slow down my writing. Thank you for a lovely presentation of Bee’s calling and methods of reaching readers, Yasmin.