RESOURCES
Links to creatives and useful websites and other resources
Authors
Phoebe Wilby |
Phoebe Wilby lives in the Republic of Ireland with her husband Eoghan. Phoebe is an award-winning author with the Literary Achievement Award for Excellence in Fiction from the Golden Key International Honour Society, of which she is a lifetime member, for her fictionalised treatment of the September 11, 2001 tragedy in New York. Phoebe has a background in journalism. Her books include Point of View, Time Is Of The Essence, and her memoir, Always One Step Ahead Of The Storm.
Stephanie Hammond
Stephanie Hammond writes memoir, children's stories, and young adult historical fantasy novels. Stephanie is based in New Zealand. Her latest memoir is inspirational for those whose lives have been touched by addiction and prison systems.
Proofreader/Editor
Amy O'Brien is based in Australia.
Writing/Editing Resources

The 3 A.M. Epiphany: Uncommon Writing Exercises that Transform Your Fiction offers more than 200 intriguing writing exercises designed to help you think, write, and revise like never before - without having to wait for creative inspiration.
Brian Kiteley, noted author and director of the University of Denver's creative writing program, has crafted and refined these exercises through 15 years of teaching experience.
Stephanie found this book through a writing group in Rhode Island that she was privileged to visit and immediately bought a copy. We use the exercises to better understand minor characters and their role in the story. We are impressed with the depth of understanding of our characters, what prompts their actions and even to predict how they will act. A wonderful resource for every writer.
Brian Kiteley, noted author and director of the University of Denver's creative writing program, has crafted and refined these exercises through 15 years of teaching experience.
Stephanie found this book through a writing group in Rhode Island that she was privileged to visit and immediately bought a copy. We use the exercises to better understand minor characters and their role in the story. We are impressed with the depth of understanding of our characters, what prompts their actions and even to predict how they will act. A wonderful resource for every writer.
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We just love this book and its title Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life. Anne Lamott tells the story of how the title came to be: "Thirty years ago my older brother, who was ten years old at the time, was trying to get a report on birds written that he'd had three months to write. It was due the next day. We were out at our family cabin in Bolinas, and he was at the kitchen table close to tears, surrounded by binder paper and pencils and unopened books on birds, immobilized by the hugeness of the task ahead. Then my father sat down beside him, put his arm around my brother's shoulder, and said, 'Bird by bird, buddy. Just take it bird by bird.'"
So that's how we approach our writing - and the life of the author as well - and Anne Lamott shows us how we must not be discouraged at a mountain of writing tasks. She tells us how to tick them off one by one, bird by bird. We love it. An oldie now, but definitely worth including in your writing and your life's resource shelf.
So that's how we approach our writing - and the life of the author as well - and Anne Lamott shows us how we must not be discouraged at a mountain of writing tasks. She tells us how to tick them off one by one, bird by bird. We love it. An oldie now, but definitely worth including in your writing and your life's resource shelf.
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Eats, Shoots and Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation by Lynne Truss is a classic guide to good punctuation. Stephanie first heard of this book while she was at Uni and it was highly recommended then. It's an entertaining, no holds barred look at punctuation. Here's a couple of excerpts.
“The rule is: the word 'it's' (with apostrophe) stands for 'it is' or 'it has'. If the word does not stand for 'it is' or 'it has' then what you require is 'its'. This is extremely easy to grasp. Getting your itses mixed up is the greatest solecism in the world of punctuation. No matter that you have a PhD and have read all of Henry James twice. If you still persist in writing, 'Good food at it's best', you deserve to be struck by lightning, hacked up on the spot and buried in an unmarked grave.”
“I apologise if you all know this, but the point is many, many people do not. Why else would they open a large play area for children, hang up a sign saying "Giant Kid's Playground", and then wonder why everyone stays away from it? (Answer: everyone is scared of the Giant Kid.)”
The message of the book? Don't be afraid of being a Grammar Nerd. Punctuation is important and can even save lives. The terrifying-to-grandmothers-everywhere sentence: "Let's eat Grandma.", becomes: "Let's eat, Grandma!", and we all tuck into some ultra delicious food and Grandma is left alive.
“The rule is: the word 'it's' (with apostrophe) stands for 'it is' or 'it has'. If the word does not stand for 'it is' or 'it has' then what you require is 'its'. This is extremely easy to grasp. Getting your itses mixed up is the greatest solecism in the world of punctuation. No matter that you have a PhD and have read all of Henry James twice. If you still persist in writing, 'Good food at it's best', you deserve to be struck by lightning, hacked up on the spot and buried in an unmarked grave.”
“I apologise if you all know this, but the point is many, many people do not. Why else would they open a large play area for children, hang up a sign saying "Giant Kid's Playground", and then wonder why everyone stays away from it? (Answer: everyone is scared of the Giant Kid.)”
The message of the book? Don't be afraid of being a Grammar Nerd. Punctuation is important and can even save lives. The terrifying-to-grandmothers-everywhere sentence: "Let's eat Grandma.", becomes: "Let's eat, Grandma!", and we all tuck into some ultra delicious food and Grandma is left alive.
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Published works