Welcome! I’m so happy that you’re here.
The Mindful Writer is all about making a difference with our words.
Our world is divided and the words we write, and speak, can help bring us together again. Everything I share here is about living and writing more mindfully and really digging deep into what we’re writing and why.
I truly believe that if we start to bring more stories filled with compassion, empathy and togetherness into the universe, then we can change our world.
People say I’m a dreamer but I have learned a lot about the connections between us all, and everything in the universe, in the past decade, and our thoughts and our words and the stories we tell have real power. More than we realise. I wrote about this here:
I write the Mindful Writer to help you find a deeper connection to yourself, your writing craft, and everything and everyone we share this amazing experience of being alive with. And for me to do the same, and make sense of all the things that happen to me. To connect with people walking the same path who want to slow down in a world that’s always speeding up. In 2024, inspired by the writing I have been doing here and the people I’ve been connecting with, I launched a new creative venture. Find out more here.
The time for us to change the stories we tell ourselves about what being human is all about, is now. It’s not about war and hatred, separation, violence and murder, it’s about love.
Join me to start spreading peace and love with your words.
Already a member? Access all your goodies here!
Transform Your Writing Practice: Choose Your Journey
All subscribers have access to:
Writers as World Changers - a monthly series exploring how writers of the past and present use their craft to heal our fractured world and how storytelling becomes activism. Each post also includes practical writing exercises inspired by these amazing writers, so you can experience their approaches firsthand and apply their wisdom to your own mindful writing practice. This series embodies everything The Mindful Writer stands for — using our words to heal, connect, and create the kind of world we want to live in by writing with compassion and understanding for our shared humanity.
Personal essays: my ongoing journey with mindfulness and how this transformed my writing, and everything else about my life, and continues to do so as my practice develops.
Storytelling with the Tao Te Ching: ancient wisdom meets modern writing craft, in this series that looks at how each chapter of this book matters in the modern day and how we can use that to inspire contemporary storytelling.
Discovering Mindful Writers: this interview series features inspiring conversations with writers on the mindful path
Paid Membership: Access The Writing Sanctuary
Everything above, plus exclusive content designed to transform your writing practice and connect you with a community of mindful writers.
Already a member? Access all your goodies here!
The Writing Sanctuary
Step into a monthly sanctuary designed to nurture your writing soul. These exclusive posts offer deep insights and inspiration adapted from my acclaimed Year of Mindful Writing course. Each month, I share profound techniques that help you discover who you truly are as a writer, connect with what you're meant to create, and write with less fear and more joy. This is where transformation happens and it's available only to paid subscribers who are committed to deepening their mindful writing practice.
Monthly Mindful Writing Marathons
These aren't typical workshops—they're sacred writing spaces where we write, read, write, read without giving feedback. It's all about freeing your inner voice and discovering what wants to emerge when you create from a place of mindful awareness. More info here. Perfect for breaking through blocks and connecting with your most authentic creative self.
Monthly Mindful Drop-Ins
Starting in August 2025, monthly 10 hour drop-in sessions on Zoom where you can bring your writing questions, share what you're working on and reading, or simply connect with other mindful writers. No agenda, no pressure — just space to be together and explore this craft we love. These will be on the fourth Friday of the month at 15.30 UK time.
Behind-the-Scenes Voice Notes
Occasional audio updates about my own writing process, the books I'm reading, insights from my mindfulness practice, and the messy, beautiful reality of trying to live and write more consciously in the challenging times we find ourselves living in.
A Growing Resource Library
Each month, something new is added — collections of prompts organised by theme, guides for writing mindfully, ideas for being compassionate with your work. Goodies that accumulate over time to support your practice.
Early Access & Special Rates
You'll get first dibs on workshop and course bookings and special rates that aren't available anywhere else. Plus you’ll be able to apply for the Year of Mindful Writing before applications open to all.
Private Chat Threads
Access to intimate spaces where I share prompts, mindful writing exercises, and we support each other's creative journeys. This is where the real magic of community happens — where writers on the mindful path connect, encourage, and inspire each other.
Quarterly Guest Conversations
Connect with mindful living practitioners, fellow mindful writers, teachers who align with our values — for conversations about creativity, consciousness, and the intersection of the two.
My Deepest Gratitude
Because your support makes this work possible and helps spread mindful writing practices to writers around the world.
Ready to transform your writing practice?
Founding Membership: Ultimate Connection & Support
Everything in paid membership, plus:
Personal 45-Minute Zoom Session
Meet with me one-to-one to explore specific ways you can mindfully develop your craft. You’ll get personalised guidance based on your unique writing journey, challenges, and aspirations. Together, we'll identify how mindful writing practices can unlock your creative potential and help you write the stories that are calling to be told.
This intimate opportunity is available to founding members only.
Want to say thanks for my work but not commit to a membership?
Every gesture of support means the world to me and makes a real difference in my mission to use storytelling to change the world.
Popular Posts
These are my most read, liked and commented upon posts to give you an idea of what you can expect:
Who am I?
I’m Amanda Saint, a writer, editor, teacher and publisher from the UK who moves around a lot. I am houseless but not homeless as home is inside me and my happy, loving marriage. Since 2013, my husband and I have been travelling, housesitting and doing work for accommodation exchanges. Since we got together in 1998, we have moved around all the time and the longest we have ever lived in one house is two years.
I have written two novels, As If I Were A River (2016) and Remember Tomorrow (2019), and a novella-in-flash, Pressure Drop (2024). I’ve had many short stories published, placed and listed in competitions, including the Mslexia Flash Prize, Fish Flash Prize and Flash500. You can read some of them here.
I’ve had some stories selected for the Top in Fiction Substack too.
I’m currently working on a whole host of short stories that are at various stages of development, and my third novel (or maybe it’s a novella or a long short story, I’m not sure yet!).
At my creative venture, Retreat West, which I started in 2012, I provided an online community for writers, design and taught online courses and workshops, and provided editorial services. I also published books from 2018 until 2023 and brought 24 of them to the world in that time. In 2020 Retreat West was named Most Innovative Publisher at the Saboteur Awards (shortlisted 2019) and many of the books I published won awards too.
In 2022, I founded an online literary journal, WestWord. In 2023, I founded The Mindful Writer. In 2025, I closed Retreat West to focus all of my efforts into The Mindful Writer and WestWord to bring greater connection and compassion to thew world through storytelling.
I have been practicing mindfulness for a decade and it changed my life, my writing and my teaching. I also have a daily Qigong practice, which I have been committed to for several years now and read a chapter of the Tao Te Ching everyday. In 2025, I started learning Reiki healing. I love mountains and beaches, birds and forests and lakes, and spend as much time outdoors as I can.
All of these things inform what I write in these posts and in my stories. I hope you enjoy my work. If you’d like to become a more mindful writer it would be great to have you along.
My other offerings
There are lots of opportunities to work more closely with me to develop your writing craft.
Lovely things people have said about my work
“Amanda isn’t just a writing teacher; she is a mentor and a guide. I unequivocally recommend her courses and coaching if you seek to improve your writing, connect more deeply with yourself and the creative force, and find renewed joy in life and in your writing.”
— Loretta Finan
“The Mindful Writer is a beautiful sanctuary to reflect on how writing can become a practice of deep connection and transformation. Amanda teaches and showcases how writers can craft stories with empathy, intention, and purpose. Readers learn to slow down, reflect on their creative voice, and use their writing to inspire and touch hearts.”
— Michele Parad
“I wholeheartedly urge anyone who is interested in understanding, improving and refining their writing to work with Amanda. Not only does she give valuable advice about the nuts-and-bolts of storytelling, she digs so much deeper into what your story is about, exposing what is missing but also revealing hidden layers to be explored, helping you craft stories with depth which are meaningful and memorable.”
— Sally Curtis
“You are putting good stuff out in to the world, Amanda. Thank you.”
— Jeanne Malgrem
“If you’re a writer seeking inspiration, mindfulness, and a deeper connection to your creative process, this is a space you’ll love. This Substack explores the intersection of creativity and self-awareness, helping writers move past doubt, embrace their voice, and find joy in the journey. Whether you're facing blocks, looking for soulful reflection, or simply craving a space that nurtures both your writing and your well-being, this is a place where words and mindfulness beautifully meet.”
— Johanna Rossi
