Even The Best Can Get Better

Published on September 4, 2019September 7, 2019 by Tabatha Wood

There is a sign on State Highway 2 near where I live in New Zealand aimed at motorcyclists. It says: “Even the best can get better.” Each time I drive past it, it makes me smile, because it speaks to me not as a motorcycle owner, but as an artist and writer, passionate about what […]

Child of the Sea

Published on August 28, 2019December 16, 2020 by Tabatha Wood

I’m a water baby, I’ve known that forever. I grew up by the North Sea and I swam in it quite regularly even though it’s bastard cold and murky grey and you’d be well advised not to swallow even a drop of it. The worst part of wearing hearing aids for me is having to […]

Being a Wild Woman

Published on May 13, 2019 by Tabatha Wood

Cross-posting from my sister blog “Well-Written”, which is also a huge part of my writing identity, I talk a little bit about conquering one of my biggest fears – speaking in public and in front of my peers – to lead a brand new writing workshop in Wellington. https://wellwrittennz.wordpress.com/2019/05/13/being-a-wild-woman/

You Like Me. Right Now You Like Me.

Published on May 3, 2019May 3, 2019 by Tabatha Wood

Praise for “Dark Winds Over Wellington: Chilling Tales of the Weird & the Strange” “The stories in Tabatha Wood’s collection are carefully and intelligently crafted. You may think they’re just a tasty creepy snack, but then you start to feel a bit queasy, the cordyceps pokes out through your forehead and you find your perspective […]

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 […]

Zine Culture

Published on March 4, 2019 by Tabatha Wood

I made my very first zine this weekend. I had absolutely no idea what I was doing, and no plan. I decided that instead of trying to make it nice and pretty, I would use it as a creative brain-dump. So I cut random images from magazines (I didn’t even cut them neatly!); added a […]

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 […]

The best writing tip I ever received: Don’t stop

Published on February 28, 2019March 2, 2019 by Tabatha Wood

Writing is hard. Oh, certainly, the act of writing is easy enough; you start with a word, and you add another, and then another, and another after that. Eventually, you form sentences and paragraphs. If you keep going, you might end up with pages and chapters, and beyond that, entire stories. Just like Dr Frankenstein, […]

It Is Done … Almost

Published on February 27, 2019February 27, 2019 by Tabatha Wood

My manuscript is complete, and has been sent out to beta readers. I am under no illusions that my work is done and finished; I’m positive that there will be many more changes to be made, plot lines to improve, and characters to kill. Sending my ‘baby’ out into the world is terrifying. I wonder […]

Ripley: Celebrating The Strong Woman

Published on February 15, 2019 by Tabatha Wood

I remember the first time I watched the movie “Aliens”. I was 15 and I watched it in secret from my parents with two friends in their “den”. We watched “Terminator 2: Judgement Day” on the same day. I guess we must have been on a James Cameron kick. I remember being absolutely and totally […]