Tabatha Wood

Life After Lockdown — A Year On

Published on April 9, 2021April 9, 2021 by Tabatha Wood

I turned forty-one last year in the middle of lockdown, alert level 4, and it was one of the best birthdays I’d ever had...

Black Dogs, Black Thoughts

Published on April 5, 2020 by Tabatha Wood

I’ve been working for a while now on a project, selecting stories for an anthology to raise money and awareness for the Mental Health Foundation of New Zealand. I’ve been supported by a fantastic, international team of writers and editors to pull this together, and the end is finally in sight. But it feels strange

Things I Didn’t Do…

Published on October 14, 2019November 11, 2019 by Tabatha Wood

This weekend ended up being the One Where I Didn’t Do Things. I didn’t go to a social meet-up I had been planning to go to due to feeling unwell. I didn’t send off a story before a submission deadline because I realised it needed a lot more work to properly shine. I didn’t work

Open call for submissions — Black Dogs, Black Tales

Published on September 28, 2019December 12, 2019 by Tabatha Wood

I am extremely pleased to announce that after a good deal of plotting and scheming, I will be working with a fantastic team of people to put together a brand new horror and dark speculative fiction charity anthology entitled, “Black Dogs, Black Tales.” This collection of short fiction will be raising money for the Mental

Don’t Self-Reject!

Published on September 23, 2019September 23, 2019 by Tabatha Wood

Have you ever felt super excited about doing a Thing, only to suddenly find yourself crippled by unexpected anxiety, uncertainty and a strong urge to run away and hide? I don’t just mean a physical Thing, but also a creative or artistic one. Self-rejection is the nasty little brother of the Imposter Syndrome Gremlin, and

My Contributory Verse

Published on July 5, 2019July 5, 2019 by Tabatha Wood

My brain is being an asshole. I don’t mind admitting that at all. Sometimes it does this, and I know it will pass, but while I’m floundering in that deep, dark hole, everything pretty much sucks. On the positive side, I’ve used it as a catalyst for some extremely dark new stories, which I absolutely

Finding My Way Back

Published on May 20, 2019April 17, 2020 by Tabatha Wood

My regular readers and followers will know that I frequently write for mental health. I’m also aware that this often turns people off too. “Oh great, she’s going on about depression again.” “Why does she always focus on the serious stuff?” “She must be pretty unstable if she has to keep focusing on all that.”

Well-Written – Writing for Wellness

Published on March 5, 2019March 5, 2019 by Tabatha Wood

I run an online blog and support group called Well-Written; a writing group which encourages women to write for positive mental health. We share our ideas and creativity, and we listen to what we all have to say. It is aimed at being an empowering and nurturing space not just to write about mental health

Slowing Down and Changing Gears.

Published on March 1, 2019March 2, 2019 by Tabatha Wood

I’m tired. I don’t want to admit it, but I am. I promised myself last year to pay more attention to my ‘give-a-fuck’-budget, and by that I meant that I needed to consider whether something was really worth my time, my energy or my money. I also said that if an event I was invited

Gremlin

Published on January 25, 2019January 25, 2019 by Tabatha Wood

Sometimes, when I’m struggling with a larger project, a smaller idea will worm its way into my head and give me a palate cleanser. It helps me to refocus and just get in a little bit of writing practice without worrying about it having to go somewhere or be something. This one came about when