Showing posts with label Nerd Church. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Nerd Church. Show all posts

Sunday 27 October 2024

Nerd Church - Blogging Schedule Update (...It's Been A Stressful Week)



illustrated woman with a notebook


 

I don't usually write Nerd Church posts like this, but since Nerd Church isn't really tightly defined (...or defined at all, OK, I know,) I figured why not?

You may or may not have noticed that there was no Comics Wrap-Up (CWU) post, or Friday Fics Fix (F3) post this week.

- Which wasn't a planned break.

My life turned into another whirling ball of chaos this week, with my mother's health being very Not Good.

(Thankfully she's doing so much better now.)

Sunday 20 October 2024

Nerd Church - That Time American Horror Story Made A Mini-Series About Writers...

 


Title: That Time American Horror Story Made A Mini-Series About Writers...


I love American Horror Story (AHS).

It's amazing, let's be honest.

I started watching a fair few years after the beginning, and started from said beginning - Murder House (as everyone should, imho,) - so haven't actually caught up yet.


Sunday 13 October 2024

Nerd Church - Short Story: Over the Rain

 

This story was originally published in the Medium publication Promptly Written in response to this writing prompt from Bella Smith:

— During a relentless rainstorm, two old friends reconcile their differences over a cup of coffee.



Over The Rain


sleeved hand holding a coffee mug
Image by Engin Akyurt from Pixabay



Sunday 6 October 2024

Nerd Church - I’d Love To Have A Cat’s Self-Confidence

 


Originally published on Medium



This started with a prompt, and then meandered far, far, away from the original idea… 😅

Prompt set by Dr. Casey Lawrence on Medium:


“ The world breaks everyone, and afterward, some are stronger at the broken places.”

— Ernest Hemingway, A Farewell to Arms: Library Edition [x]





Title: I'd Love To Have A Cat's Self-Confidence. Image: silver fluffy cat wearing a cool pair of sunglasses


Sunday 29 September 2024

Nerd Church - The Writer Diaries: You Don't Have To Publish Everything

 

Warning: brief discussions of Anxiety/mental health issues


Title: You Don't Have To Publish Everything



This is a reminder to any of you fellow writers/bloggers/whoever-s out there who need it:

 

You don't have to post everything.

You don't have to publish everything.

Sunday 22 September 2024

Nerd Church - Prioritise Small Steps

 

...brought to you by me, once again, giving myself a pep-talk and posting it on the internet 😅💪



Title: Prioritise Small Steps. Background: rainbow animal print, because I'm somehow subtle and extra at the same time


Listen, the world is rough and tough and kind of awful sometimes. 

It feels like everything is crashing and burning and we live in a frankly batpoop timeline.

Sunday 15 September 2024

Nerd Church - Celebrity Birthday Buddies!

 

It's my birthday today (15th Sep) so I figured I'd have a little fun.

(...of the nerdy sort, because that's on-brand, let's be honest.)


Title: Celebrity Birthday Buddies! Image: cupcakes


So, y'know that thing where people talk about their ideal celebrity dinner guests, either living or dead, fictional or real?

This isn't that.

But it is somewhat adjacent to that.



I thought that instead I'd talk about my celebrity birthday party list - with the twist that they also have to have their birthday on September 15th. Just because it's an awesome date, let's be honest.


So, here's my celebrity birthday buddies:

Sunday 8 September 2024

Nerd Church - Short Story: The Lady Klara, The Prince Matteo







This is a fantasy short story that first appeared in the 'Promptly Written' publication on Medium, in response to the following prompt by Ravyne Hawke:


Conceptual theme — Villain
TwosomeDreadful and Deadly


I'm actually quite proud of this one, so I hope you like it! 😅





Warning: general violence (mostly of the stabby kind,) blood, injury, murder, implied war, loss of autonomy




The Lady Klara, The Prince Matteo



Image by Enrique Meseguer from Pixabay


Friday 9 August 2024

Month(s) In Review(s) - June + July 2024

 

Warning: discussions of Depression and pet loss


Title: June + July. Mehefin + Gorffennaf. Background: large sunflower


...OK, doing this as a two-monthly thing is becoming an unintentional habit 😅

The only excuse that I have is that sometimes Depression messes my memory up - and the fact that I entirely (and I mean, entirely,) forgot to write a post for June coincides with some pretty sh**ty mental health days over the past two months.

So, yeah. I'm blaming Depression. And I don't feel bad about that, because it blames me for stuff all the time 😅

Sunday 28 July 2024

Nerd Church - You Pick Up Little Pieces of Yourself





Title: You Pick Up Little Pieces of Yourself


You pick up little pieces of yourself, scattered through the world.




Pieces that belong to others too

 — point, say, ‘look, it’s both of us;’ a modern manifestation of Emily Dickinson’s Nobody.


Sunday 21 July 2024

Nerd Church - The Writer Diaries: Write Through

 

Warning: this post discusses Depression


Title: Write Through



I have not had a good week, mental-health-wise.

I had some very bad Depression days, and was generally not very good, mentally.



The thing is that when my mental health is poor, I really struggle to write. 

Anything. Like, coherent sentences are a problem.

Let alone the *Writing* I really need (I explained the difference between writing and *Writing* here, if you're interested.)

Sunday 14 July 2024

Nerd Church - Sometimes You Need To Take Things Slow

 


Title: Sometimes You Need To Take Things Slow



Do you get the feeling, sometimes, that everything out there in the big wide world is kind of... rushed?

It's kind of fast, kind of hurried, kind of urgent.

Sunday 7 July 2024

Nerd Church - Short Story: Unwitnessed



Originally published in Promptly Written on Medium, for this prompt by Ravyne Hawke:



Write a ‘moody’ piece around any of the following:

— a fresh perspective
— a lingering thought
— a lost moment in time





Warning:
implied violence

Unwitnessed


Silhouette of a lone woman, sitting and looking upwards
Image by StockSnap from Pixabay


Sunday 30 June 2024

Nerd Church - The Writer Diaries: When Is A Writer Not A Writer?





...Handmade vs AI mass production.




Title: When Is A Writer Not A Writer?






Have you ever, when out shopping, come across an item — a necklace or a piece of pottery, perhaps — and noticed that it’s marked ‘handmade’…

…and it’s so intricate, so beautiful, that you just think -

Wow.

Sunday 23 June 2024

Nerd Church - I'm So Tired Of The General Election

 


Title: I'm So Tired Of The General Election. Background: neutral, non-party-affiliated, bunting



I'm so tired of the election.

...That's the UK election, by the way. 

Which is happening on July 4th, the date of which apparently led to several people from the Conservative party using insider knowledge to place bets. Classy. (Allegedly.)

Sunday 16 June 2024

Nerd Church - Migraine Trips

 


Title: Migraine Trips. Background: psychedelic patterning



You wake up and go downstairs, pausing mid-way down.

The lines of each individual stair seem to waver for a moment.

The stairs themselves seem vaguely Burtonesque - all slanted lines and moving pieces.

Your head hurts and you close your eyes.


Wednesday 12 June 2024

Month(s) In Review(s) - April + May 2024


Warning: pet death, grief


Did I intend to make this a 2-month wrap-up?

No. No I did not.



Title: April + May. Ebrill + May. Background: flower pattern



Did it become abundantly clear that I wasn't gonna get April's post done by the end of May?

Yes. Yes it did.



April was awful.

Really.



You know how my criteria for a good month is one where no-one I care about - human or animal - dies, almost dies, or gets a life-changing diagnosis?

April was not a good month.



My beautiful cat died, dearest nerdlets.

And the world feels off without him. There's a hole in my chest.



So most of the rest of April + May has been trying to get used to life without him.

...It still hurts like hell.

That boy was my everything, and I have cried every single day since I lost him.



But I kept going, despite the urge to stay in bed and wail. 

(Turns out I'm frighteningly good at wailing - with frighteningly being the key word. I... did not know I could make that kind of noise. I freaked my parents the hell out.)

So, y'know, if you've got the chance to check out the posts I somehow managed to write despite the separation of my soul from my body, that'd be great... 😅


dividing line

Comics Wrap-Up


Title: Comics Wrap-Up. Background: lined-notebook-style with speech bubbles containing heart symbols


Was Not Expecting That! - Wenglish in Marvel's Echo and more


Iconic and Irreplaceable - Joker: Folie a Deux and more


I Can Already Tell - X-men '97 and more


My Fangirling Heart Is Singing Right Now! - Deadpool & Wolverine and more


You Learn Stuff, I Guess - Chibird and more


The Freaking Chaos - Marvel's What If...? and more


Actually Quite Lovely - X-Men '97 and more


Gracing The Waves of the Interwebs - Deadpool & Wolverine and more


Wholesome and Positive - The Cursed Princess Club and more



Friday Fics Fix


Title: F3. Background: kaleidoscopic patterns



The Nature of the Void - A The Umbrella Academy (TUA) fic exploring the nature of death, grief, and the Void


Most of You Aren't Gonna Read This - A The Falcon and The Winter Soldier (TFATWS) horror novella that is extremely well-written. I loved it. I hated it. It's so good.


Because I Am Trash - A TFATWS fic where Sam and Bucky are stuck in an industrial freezer. I stand by my life choices.


Cyberpunk Stucky - In a nutshell: Stucky (Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes from the MCU in a relationship,) as detectives in space. But it's so much more than that. I would legit. buy this as an original novel - it's that good.


Vampires and a Smidge of FrostIron - Everything's better with vampires, right? Plus a little bit of Tony Stark/Loki love.


Klaus' Ghosts In A Specific Trope - I like the fandom-specific trope of Klaus literally showing his demons to people who deny or minimise them - the emo goblin spaghetti brain very much likes, OK?


Bucky's A Literal Demon and Sam's A Literal Angel - TFATWS


So. Freaking. Beautiful - A TUA Klaus/Dave fic with Klaus noticing that, in some lights, Dave's eyes are the exact same shade of blue as his powers, the ghosts, etc. etc. Which leads to a whole lot of introspection from both of them and... it's beautiful.



Nerd Church


Can Books 'Talk' To Us? - Do you think books can send us messages?


It's OK (Just Keep Going) - Brought to you by the art of giving myself a pep talk and then posting it on the internet 😅


My Heart Is Broken... - My beautiful boy is gone. 💔


Random Audiobook Ramblings - Walking is boring and books are awesome


Unpopular Opinion: I've Never Liked Gavin and Stacey - Sorry, not sorry. It feels uncomfortable - like Wales through an English lens.


What Does 'Enough' Even Mean? - Has anyone ever reached ‘enough’?


Things Happen When They Happen - I'm trying to remind myself that, so long as I'm working on things, they'll be ready when they're ready.


I Quit Google AdSense - Because this is way too many hoops to jump through for £7




Other Non-Review Posts


Month In Review(s) - March 2024





So, that's April and May for yours truly.

How was yours?

Talk to me! 😊💬








You can follow me on Twitter @CeeDoraReads, on Pinterest, and on Dora Reads @ BlogLovinFor more ways to support me, check out the Support Me page





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Sunday 9 June 2024

Nerd Church - Short Story: Gravel-Crunch



This is another Anna Sinclair short story - if you don't know what that is, then you may or may not want to read the previous stories first.

If you do, here they are:


If you don't - the briefest of re-caps:

Anna Sinclair rocks, she swears a lot, and she's got some kind of feud going with some rich boys called Miles and Tony Addison, relating to some money. At least some of said money is currently down Anna's bra.

Now you pretty much know everything I do about her 😅




Warning: alcohol


Gravel-Crunch


A short story about one Anna Sinclair.




playground swing
Image by André Rau from Pixabay

Sunday 2 June 2024

Nerd Church - Whatever Else Happens, Trump Is Guilty

 


Title: Whatever Else Happens, Trump Is Guilty Background: statue of Lady Justice


Whatever else happens, Trump is guilty.

Finally there are criminal, legal, marks next to his name which can be - have been - proved.


Sunday 26 May 2024

Nerd Church - I Quit Google AdSense






Title: I Quit Google AdSense, written inside a search bar



I’ve been using Google AdSense here on Dora Reads for quite some time — at least two years, but honestly, I lose track.


It’s probably more like 5 or 6 years at this point. (I am nothing if not persistent.)

In that time, I earned about £7  — which I couldn’t get to, because the minimum payout threshold is £60.