“Instructions for living a life: Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it.” – Mary Oliver
Creative writing · Journalling · Writing for wellbeing · Place
I am a writer, poet and creative writing facilitator with an MA in Creative Writing. My writing practice centres on journalling, attention and the exploration of everyday experience, with a particular interest in the ways writing can help us notice, reflect and make meaning.
I facilitate creative writing sessions and residentials, including Creative Writing for Wellbeing programmes for Cardiff Council, and have been facilitating writing retreats on Flat Holm Island since 2024. My approach is inclusive and exploratory, with an emphasis on curiosity. Sessions combine prompts, sensory observation, free-writing, poetry, journalling and time for individual reflection.
Writing for wellbeing
I am particularly interested in the relationship between writing, wellbeing and attention. Journalling is at the heart of my own practice: an accessible form of writing that can provide space to notice what is happening, explore thoughts and feelings, record the everyday and discover connections we might otherwise overlook.
I have contributed writing on writing for wellbeing to Lapidus Magazine and Wales Arts Review, and my poetry and prose have appeared in a range of literary magazines and journals.
Writing and place
My work with Flat Holm has developed my interest in islands and place-based writing. Since 2024 I have facilitated creative writing residentials on the island, drawing on its landscape, wildlife, geology, history, myths and stories as starting points for writing.
The retreats combine mindful observation, journalling, poetry, nature writing, historical and imaginative writing, and periods of unstructured exploration. I am interested in what happens when we stop treating landscape as a backdrop and allow a place itself to become part of the writing.
Journalling
For me, journalling is less about producing something polished and more about creating a space in which thoughts, feelings, memories and ideas can emerge. Writers such as Julia Cameron and Natalie Goldberg encourage us to write without editing or judging ourselves — to keep the hand moving, follow the first thought and allow the unexpected to surface. We don’t have to know what we want to say before we begin. Sometimes the most interesting writing comes when we stop trying to think up something and instead allow ourselves to write down what is already there. A journal can be a place for noticing, wondering, questioning, remembering and making connections; a private space where the inner critic can step aside and curiosity can take over.
“Write what disturbs you, what you fear, what you have not been willing to speak about. Be willing to be split open.” ― Natalie Goldberg, Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within
I’ve recently developed an Island Writing programme, following a successful pilot on Flat Holm Island. You can see a little more about the project here:
Testimonials:
“Thank you for facilitating our weekend of creative writing so gently, thoughtfully and expertly. It was my very first venture into a creative writing course of any type, and it certainly did not disappoint. I was amazed at the output I managed to achieve in such a short space of time – the beautiful setting of course helped hugely, giving space for my creative juices to flow, but being given prompts and space was key. Thank you.”
– Jo (Participant on the 2026 Flat Holm retreat)
