When I was growing up the idea of being a writer – and even more so a poet – was very much a fantasy. My dad, being practical, suggested journalism instead. ‘I can just imagine it,’ one of my university friends used to say. ‘You as a poet, living in garret, wearing a shawl and lots of hair grips.’

In this second post in a new series on creative writing and care we talk to novelist Samantha Lierens, who writes as Lizzie Page.

Letting your own words speak on the page often seems like the least important thing in a long list of priorities. How can we find, or make, time to write—especially if we have demanding day jobs, or caring responsibilities, or both?