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Amanda as Writing Coach
Testimonials
Coralee H.
I love words, reading and dreaming. When I was a librarian, writing reports and reviews of children’s books were part of my professional responsibilities. I enjoyed meeting authors at conventions, and enjoyed helping them research material for their works in progress. I wanted to be a writer. I didn’t know how to move from technical writing to creating something wonderful, like a real book.
I met Amanda online through the Jungle Red Writers Blog. This well known blog run by a group of successful mystery writers, encourages comments BTL (below the line). I appreciated Amanda’s thoughtful responses to the daily questions. She mentioned she taught writing, and I thought this might be someone who could help me find a teacher.
Then she shared she was planning to retire, and I thought. “Here is my chance!”
I do understand research, so I googled Amanda. I discovered her blog “Five Years a Writer” She has a lovely direct style of communicating with the reader, something I longed to be able to do as well. In January of 2022 I reached out to her. Our commitment began.
Amanda took me from a person who struggles with framing ideas to someone with confidence to take an idea from start to finish. She is always forthright in her correspondence. For me, though, more importantly, her comments are always compassionate, gentle and encouraging. I call Amanda my Coach. She sees her role as one who is there to improve my performance not to destroy my writing attempts with harshness. Another strength is Amanda’s willingness to respond promptly to my posts. I do not have to wait weeks for a response to a question. Over the weeks of our time together, our relationship has deepened into one of trust and fellowship. Amanda is THAT kind of teacher: one you want to invite over for tea.
If you want to learn how to write in a loving environment from a person who knows the ‘right stuff’, Amanda is your Coach.
Leslie P.
I have had a very enriching experience with Amanda as my current writing coach. I can say without hesitation that whether a new writer or one with previous experience and learning, Amanda would bring support and encouragement in a fun and exciting manner. Her in-depth knowledge would be applied to all forms of writing. Her communication and interpersonal manner promote a supportive and relaxed environment to work. Her teaching is concise, and she was open for discussion in all my ideas in the process. She showed me different perspectives of expressing myself and I felt I was learning how to refine my work. She provided a positive encouraging approach, explaining in ways that were building on my drafts. The ownership of my work didn’t change, and I always felt it was my writing, but the style and flair heightened. I loved the challenges she encourages; for example, learning how to write literary fiction and dialogue. Each time we met, I was so excited to look at my work with a new lens of learning. I know anyone that has an opportunity to work with Amanda will feel renewed strength and courage to continue their writing journey.