The Gift of Having Nowhere to Go

How being untethered showed me how to better guide other writers home

Photo by Priscilla Gyamfi on Unsplash

Becoming homeless 10 weeks ago has fundamentally shifted something deep inside me. Even though my husband and I have been nomadic for a very long time, we always had a next place to go, apart from when we were backpacking. But this time we didn’t. We’d expected to be moving into a long-wanted, longterm home and instead we found ourselves adrift with nowhere to go.

There’s something about finding yourself completely untethered that makes you stop and review what you’ve been doing. To recognise that what has happened is a sign that things need to change. It has been hard to know what to do and how to move forward. Having lived outside the mainstream world of homes and jobs for so long, we found it genuinely challenging to navigate our way back in order to find somewhere to live, and also unaffordable. So many different ideas have seemed like the right way to go — until they didn’t. But all of these challenges have made me determined to now build the life I truly want to live. To keep on with my mission to create more unity, compassion and love in the world with the stories we tell.

While we’ve been trying to figure out what next on the home front, I haven’t been able to write any fiction (sorry novel that has been languishing in my Scrivener for many months!) but I knew without any doubt in my heart what had to happen with my teaching. So over the past few months, I’ve channeled my time and creativity into designing and launching a new series of monthly writing workshops and I’ve completely revamped all of my offerings to fully focus on mindful storytelling that can make a difference in the world.

This has seen me write two new courses — Mindful Memoir and Mindful Flash Fiction — rewrite and expand one of the favourite courses I ever designed, which uses the five elements at the heart of Taoist wisdom to inspire storytelling. It is now much more in-depth with new readings and writing prompts, and a focus on how the elements are at play in the writer, as well as the stories they tell. Previously called The Five Elements of Fiction, it’s now Elemental Storytelling. I’ve made some changes to how A Year of Mindful Writing works and will open for applications for the 2026 course in the autumn. I’m so thrilled to be starting a third year of this popular and transformative course! And I am currently writing a brand new course, Compassionate Storytelling, that will start in November.

If something we’re working on for a permanent place to live comes to fruition, I’ll be doing deep, meaningful and healing work with people for many years to come, both online and off. Keep sending prayers out into the universe for me that this dream can come true! 🙏🏼

In the meantime, we have somewhere to stay from August until April next year. Phew! This eight-month period of stability means I can fully focus on what I’m passionate about. Working with writers to use our words to create positive human connections and be the change we want, and need, to see in the world. I might even get round to dusting off that novel!

It’s been a bumpy few months, but it feels like we’re heading back into the light. 🌞💙

While I’ve been streamlining my course offerings to deepen my focus on mindful writing, I kept coming back to the fact that some writers need, and want, more than what group courses and workshops can offer. They need sustained partnership, deep accountability, and the kind of personalised guidance that can only happen through ongoing relationship.

They need what I did when I was struggling with my own difficult projects — someone who believes in their story even when they don't, someone who can see the patterns they can't, someone who understands that writing a book isn't only about craft, it’s also about courage and determination, and acceptance of how our process works.

I've always loved working one-to-one with writers. There's something magical that happens in that intimate space when it's just two people focused entirely on one story, one voice, one writer's unique journey. It's where I see the most profound transformations happen. Watching someone discover their authentic voice, push through creative blocks, and finally understand the deeper story they are trying to tell— this is why I fell in love with teaching in the first place.

For the past nine years, I've been running the year-long Novel Creator Course, sometimes mentoring as many as 10 writers at a time through it. My mentoring time and headspace became consumed by this work. Last year, I made a tough decision: to make the September 2024 start date the final course. Despite its popularity and success, the truth is I'm not the same person who wrote it. My approach to writing and teaching has evolved dramatically. I've learned to integrate mindfulness and spirituality with craft instruction and to focus on the writer's inner journey as much as the stories they’re telling. So I’ve built a new one-to-one program that incorporates this.

The Mindful Mentoring Program

This exclusive 6-month mentorship program is open to just four writers per year — two in July, two in January — with one spot dedicated to a novel project and one to a memoir each intake.

Applications are open now to start in July 2025.

What makes it different?

• Six months of intensive, personalised guidance

• Monthly 90-minute Zoom sessions focused on your specific project

• 3,000 words of manuscript feedback each month

• Craft-focused PDFs supporting each month's focus

• Integration of mindfulness practices and spiritual wisdom with advanced writing instruction

• Ongoing email support between sessions

Who is this for? Writers with novel or memoir projects who are ready to invest in themselves and want to do deep work to develop their craft, their manuscript, and who they are as a writer.

If you've been waiting for the right support to take your writing to the next level, are ready to commit to your craft in a deeper way, and believe your story and practice deserves this level of care and attention — I'd love to hear from you!

Get all the info and apply here.

I know what it's like to feel uncertain about the path forward. But I also know the power of finding the right support at the right moment. The world needs your words. Let's work together to make sure they're the best they can be.

With love,

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Why Work With Me

I bring a unique perspective that combines the practical with the profound. My years in publishing have taught me what makes stories work on the page, while my mindfulness practice has shown me how to help writers navigate the emotional and creative challenges that inevitably arise, while also finding more depth and meaning in the work. I see writing as both craft and calling and I know how to guide you through both aspects. I integrate mindfulness and spirituality with advanced writing techniques, helping you develop your manuscript and who you are as a writer and get to the heart of what your story truly needs.

I'm an author too — two published novels, a novella-in-flash and many short fictions, so far — and in 2012 I founded Retreat West (named Most Innovative Publisher at the 2020 Saboteur Awards) where I have worked with hundreds of writers. My mindfulness practice spans a decade, and I am trained in Journal Therapy and Positive Psychology so I bring craft expertise, many years of publishing and teaching experience, and transformational support to your writing journey.

What writers have said about my 1-1 mentoring

"I was lucky enough to have Amanda as my mentor for a year while working on the rewrite of my novel; Amanda convinced me it needed a rewrite and not another draft. With Amanda by my side – she didn’t actually sit next to me, but it often felt like it – I felt confident going through the rewrite and completed before my planned deadline. Amanda’s ability to cut through the complexities of what writers are often told to focus on makes her a great mentor. She knew my characters, and she got to know my excuses with time and helped me get past them to make my work the best it could be."

“I wholeheartedly urge anyone who is interested in understanding, improving and refining their writing to take advantage of the mentoring sessions offered by 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. The mentoring I have received has enabled me to not only find the heart of the stories we have looked at together, but also to apply Amanda’s insightful observations, ideas and mindful approach to my rewrites and new writing, and the difference is incredible."