My Background and My Goals as a Writer


A little about me and what I hope to accomplish

Author’s personal photo

My name’s Lawson Wallace, I’m a 63-year-old married man. I live in South Carolina with my wife Olivia. A woman I met on Facebook. I’m the oldest son of an Air Force Enlisted man. I write on Medium.com and I’m a senior editor for Illumination Integrated Publications.

My dad’s duties in the Air Force required a lot of travel. We lived all over the States, and we spent quite a bit of time in Japan. I graduated from high school at Yokota Air Force Base.

We lived all over the Country. We also spent time in Japan.

The traveling continued after my family moved back to the States. I’m hoping I will stay in South Carolina for a long time, but I will not lose sleep if I have to move someday.

I’m on Disability, so I have a lot of time to write when my wife allows it. My goals as a writer are, to make a living with my words. I make enough writing on Medium to buy a book for my Kindle every month.

I want to use Medium to pivot into new writing gigs.

I would like to pivot away from Medium and make money with other platforms. That’s why I have a Substack newsletter and a YouTube channel where I talk about my writing.

The ultimate goal is exposure, I want writing gigs, I know I can be an asset, and I need to find clients that I will be a good fit with. I’m confident I will do that.

In no particular order, here are my top twenty stories

I’m not afraid to document my mistakes. I have submitted my writing to magazines, only to get rejection letters. I ordered The Writer’s Market, I looked through it and found out why my writing was rejected. I wrote a story about it.

The 2023 Writer’s Market Arrived in the Mail, and No Wonder My First Short Story Submission ended…
Writing is about gaining and using knowledgemedium.com

Sometimes, I voice strong opinions, this story is a commentary on current events. It received a lot of views and reads. It shows that commenting on controversial topics pays off.

Drag Queen Story Hour Is Disgusting, and No Way Should Children Be Exposed to It
Let kids be kidsmedium.com

I’m White, and I’m married to a Black woman. We have a good relationship. I write about our lives sometimes. Whenever I write about our marriage, the stories do quite well

I am a White Man She is a Black Woman We Get Along Fantastic
We have both learned Diplomacymedium.com

This is a story I’m proud of, I was accepted as a writer for The Writing Cooperative. This was the first, and so far, the only story I have submitted to them. It was accepted right away. It’s one of my favorite stories.

I Had Wanted to Write, Working at Bus Terminals Inspired Me to Do That
The beginning of an ongoing journeywritingcooperative.com

I live in a delightful apartment complex. The neighbors feel the need to slam their doors as hard as they can. There are other issues with the neighbors, so I’m sure there will be other stories written.

Slamming your apartment door is important, I need to know you’re coming and going at all times
Rude and clueless people annoy memedium.com

I was homeless for almost three years. I write about the experience often. This is one of my most-read stories about that time in my life.

If You Give a Homeless Person Twenty Bucks, Don’t Expect Him to Go to Burger King
You’re paying for a liquid lunchmedium.com

One of my earlier stories, and it’s the first story that had a lot of views and reads. I still think about that job over twenty years later.

I Worked at the Largest Low Income Community in St. Petersburg
It was Funmedium.com

My most well-received stories come out when I allow myself to be vulnerable. I wrote this story to get something off my chest that had been eating at me for a while. I felt much better after writing it.

IT Might be truth but it;s not my truth
You can rise above itmedium.com

When I was a kid, I and my family lived in Japan for a number of years. My dad was stationed there twice. During our first tour there, my parents moonlighted as English teachers. We became friends with a lot of Japanese people. We had opportunities to go to Japanese bathhouses on occasion.

A Hairy White Teenager in a Japanese Bathhouse
Lawson Wallacemedium.com

Not only am I married to a black woman, but she’s also a lot shorter than I am. Even though we live in the American South, we haven’t had too many issues, although there have been some funny moments.

The Looks My Wife and I Get When We Are Out in Public
We laugh about itmedium.com

I’m a little rough around the edges, and I have a problem with overly-sensitive crybabies. I wrote this story to express my disdain for “The Woke.”

You’re not “ Woke,” You’re Weak and Pathetic, so Grow Up
Have a sense of humor and consider the sourcemedium.com

Another story that received a lot of comments. I don’t see the logic in dragging down rich people. Rich people create businesses that employ people like me. Dragging them down will not lift anyone up.

No, The Rich don’t have an obligation to Take Care of Homeless People
Achievement is not a crimemedium.com

An early story that received a few reads. I started to write more personal stories. Those stories do well, but they are painful to write.

I am stronger than I thought I was
And so are youmedium.com

Another angry story. Census takers are still knocking on my door to this day. They ask the same questions and get the same answers. I have filled out and sent three completed census forms, but they can’t figure that out yet.

Is the Census Bureau Government at its Finest?
I hope notmedium.com

Let me start off by saying that I didn’t go outside until the cops and ambulance left the scene. I have enough sense not to go outside when there’s a gunfight in front of my apartment. A badly worded sentence in the story caused confusion.

The Gunfight outside my Window
Or how my wife and I dodged some Bulletsmedium.com

When I was in my late teens-early twenties, I lived with my grandparents for a year, after I left Japan. The house was creepy, to say the least. I shared a true incident of a night that freaked me out.

The house my grandparents lived in
It was a very creepy housemedium.com

Another early story was the first one where I wrote about how I met my wife. It’s short and to the point. I have written several stories about our relationship.

I met my wife the year I became homeless.
It was a day or two before Halloween 2014. I had accepted a Facebook friend request from an African-American who lived…lawsonwallace.medium.com

A story about bad memories coming back to cause pain. This is one of many stories I wrote about being homeless. As the years go by, the memories fade, so I don’t write about as much as I did, but memories and stories return at the oddest times.

Bad Memories Make Great Stories
At least they are worth somethingmedium.com

Homeless shelters can be dangerous places. I tried hard to be invisible, but that didn’t stop close calls from happening. I almost was hurt a few times. I’m fortunate and blessed that I was able to get out of that life.

I Had Two Close Calls at the Homeless Shelter, All Because I Forgot My Own Rules
I didn’t keep my head downmedium.com

If you would like to read more of my stories you can have them delivered to your inbox as soon as they are published.

Get an email whenever Lawson Wallace publishes.
Get an email whenever Lawson Wallace publishes. By signing up, you will create a Medium account if you don’t already…lawsonwallace.medium.com

My Success on YouTube Has Given Me the Courage to Dream Big


Coming to a stage near you

I sat in front of my worn-out Surface Pro and started the webcam. My first YouTube video was an uncomfortable mess, in my mind anyway. I played around with YouTube, and then I got serious. A year later YouTube monetized my channel.

It’s like everything else online. I have good months and not-so-good months. In my mind, it’s all good. My attitude has always been to have fun. I’m having fun on YouTube, but more important, is that I’m impacting people’s lives.

“On Good Authority put the idea into my head.

I read and respond to as many comments as I can. It’s humbling and gratifying that so many young people value what I have to say. Earlier this year, I read “On Good Authority” by Anna David.

The book is excellent, and the chapter on podcasts has been on my mind since I read the book. I have a new goal. I will be a guest on at least one podcast. I have proven that I have something to say that’s valuable to people. I took a speech class in college years ago. I also took a Dale Carnegie course.

I conquered the course, and I earned a few pens

The Dale Carnegie course was terrifying. The speech class was scary, but nothing like the Carnegie course. The point is, that I did well in both courses. I know I can be a good guest on the right podcast. Talking to millions of people online would be scary.

But, not as scary as the next item on my bucket list. I want to do a Ted Talk. I have been wracking my brain on how to practice. I was thinking I would need a picture mirror. I decided that wasn’t necessary.

I love watching Ted Talks, I want to be on stage

I will use my Surface Pro. It will be like creating YouTube videos. The only difference is that I will be standing up and pacing like they do on the Ted Talk stage.

The one thing I’m good at is communicating. I can talk and I can write. There’s no reason I can’t make it happen. If it doesn’t happen what have I lost? The important thing is exploring new things and having fun.

I’ll quit dreaming and trying new things when I’m dead

I’m sixty-four years old. I’m going to make up for lost time try new things and expand my mind and horizons. If things don’t work out, who cares? I will learn new things and grow as a person.

Final Thought:

We all need to pursue our dreams if we want to thrive. You might have had obstacles and hardships that held you back. Break out of the chains and go for it. There’s nothing worse than regret. You’re not too old or too young.

You’re breathing, so you have time, get after it.

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