Month In Review(s) - October 2018

Argh. October.

October was pretty much like the previous months - stressful, full of family worries, and working uber-hard.

My grandparents are both still in hospital. Life is still hectic.

Only October also managed to give me the gift of about four or five different colds. I'm one of those people who get colds on a rotating-door type basis. 😷

Four Years of Blogging, Dearest Nerdlets, and Many More To Come (+ FREE Printable Bookmarks PDF)

It's Halloween, and you know what that means:

Dora Reads is four years old!

And yes, I'm gonna gush like hell. Cos y'know I looooove all of youuuuuuu!!!!!!!!!!!!

And I don't mean that in an 'OMG, I'd like to thank my fans, the little people' kind of way.

I MEAN I ACTUALLY LOVE ALL OF YOU.

Even if you've never interacted with me, never let me know that you're out there reading my words, I still love you.

Because you care enough to read what I'm writing.

And that earns you a v. special place in my heart.

A special shout-out to everyone who's commented, shared, chatted on social media, and generally supported me!

I've met some awesome-sauce friends over the years, and I wish I lived closer to some of you so I could give you a hug IRL.

Nerd Church - My Real-Life Ghost Stories

It's Halloween on Wednesday... let's make this week's Nerd Church spoopy!

Do you believe in ghosts?

I do...

Kind of.

(You know nothing is ever simple with me!)

Nerd Church - That Feeling When... Why Labelling Emotions Is Healthy (Ft. #Science)

(Warning: this post discusses mental health stigma, and grief.)



In the UK, there's a TV programme live on Sunday mornings sometimes called Sunday Morning Live.

(I know, right? How did they come up with that name?!)

It's a sort-of chat show with a moral/social/ethical/semi-religious basis.

It can be decent. It can be awful.

Largely I only watch it because before 1pm on a Sunday I don't exist beyond zombie coffee-drinker; my anger at the more extreme guests tends to help me wake up while the rest of the programme is still happily sleepy.

Anywho, last week, they were asking whether there's a mental health crisis in the UK.

Now, you can argue statistics and definitions on that one until you're blue in the face and unable to look at another decimal point or percentage sign for a good long time...

...but we can all agree that good mental health is... well... good.

Nerd Church - The Writer Diaries: The More You Learn About Writing, The Less You Seem To Know

It’s weird. It’s really weird.

The more you write, the less confidence you have in what you’re writing.

You notice every goddamn flaw like it’s screeching at you.

(If you’re writing horror, maybe it is. But I guess that would be the point, right? 😆)

The more you write, the more convinced you are that you’ll never be a ‘good’ writer – whatever the hell that is.

And then, with this weirdly inflated sense of imposter syndrome filling you, you try to seek out the wisdom of the all-powerful interwebs.

And that goes about as well as you can expect…

Month in Review(s) - September 2018

Ohmygod September.

September was a f**king rollercoaster. The type where you throw up a lot.

(I'm actually kind of quietly impressed with this graphic that I threw together in like, 15 minutes! Lol.)

On the good side:

It was my birthday! Woop!

(If you wanna give me a present, you can get me a coffee here! If not, I still love ya! 😊)

Nerd Church - Appreciate Yourself

I'm goddamn tired.

You ever feel like you work your a** off, and there's just... no pay-off?

I kind of feel like that. And I kind of don't.

I'm the world's harshest critic when it comes to myself.

I have to work very hard to stop myself from working too hard.

(I know, my life is a walking contradiction.)

Because my default, when things are stressful, is to work even harder.

Which... is not a good plan.

#BannedBooksWeek: Nerd Church - F**k It, Let's Talk Censorship (Ft. Thirteen Reasons Why)

Warning: this post discusses suicide, suicidal thoughts, mental health problems, sexual harassment, and censorship.

Links may also discuss these topics.




(Did you notice I self-censored in the title of this post? I can't bring myself to swear without *'s because in a traditional Welsh household, the only one allowed to swear is your mam. Lol.)

Via Banned Books Week

Banned Books Week is back! (23-29 Sept 2018)

And, darling nerdlets, I'm here once again to ask all the goddamn awkward questions!

Cos that's kinda what this week is about!

Nerd Church - The Writer Diaries: 7 Radical Ways To Defeat Writer's Block

Staring at the blank page (...or screen...) we've all been there.

You need to write the thing - but the thing just doesn't seem to want to be written.

You have the Dreaded Writer's Block.

But Writer's Block ain't welcome around here!

I don't put up with Writer's Block (that pushy little so-and-so) - and neither should you!

Friday Fics Fix - Draco In A Bow

'“Okay, so look, so, Harry's birthday, yeah? Is soon. And the thing is, he's sort of... well, he doesn't need much. In general. And in... not general he can buy anything he fancies himself. So I kind of don't know what to get him. Except... I know that he fancies you...”'

It's my birthday tomorrow (15th Sep)!

And as such, I'm totally picking a birthday-themed Drarry fic this week. Because birthday.

Yes, this is total Mindless Self Indulgence.

Nerd Church - Creativity Takes Time (...And That's A Good Thing)

Practice makes perfect. Well... it doesn't. But it makes it better than it was when you started!

Unfortunately, when it comes to creative stuff - the process is slow.

Some people, somewhere, are the lucky one in a billion who can create a masterpiece with no practice or preamble. (Lucky so-and-sos.)

Month in Review(s) - August 2018

August... August can shut the f**k up.

Sorry if that was a little aggressive! But my Nanny is back in hospital again and... this time scares me even more than the last two times.

Which isn't August's fault, y'know, as a month.

But it isn't anyone else's fault either.

And sometimes it helps to have something to anthropomorphise your fear and anger at - y'know, aside from Parkinson's Disease itself.

Nerd Church - Work/Life/Blog/Whatever-Balance Is Hard! (Especially When You Have Cats)

Do you ever feel like there's just too much sh** going on?

Like, you got your work or school stuff, then you got your life/personal stuff, then you might have some other stuff to do with hobbies or passion projects or... welp, blogging!

Nerd Church - The Slow Process of Learning To Stop Straight-Passing

It's been about two years since I came out as Sexually Fluid.

And I'm so much happier in myself.

The process of letting myself 'act Queer,' though?

That's still very much on-going.

So since it's my coming out anniversary, and also Pride Cymru weekend - and I'm Welsh and Queer - I figured I'd talk about it a li'l bit.

Nerd Church - Exam Results Advice (That's Also Pretty Good Advice For Life)

You want some advice for getting your exam results that also applies to many, many, other sections of life? Of course you do!

(Well, you do now. #JustGoWithIt. #EnjoyTheRide.)

Nerd Church - How Do We Decide When To Forgive?

Whether you're director James Gunn, YouTuber Jeffree Star, politician Boris Johnson, or the Archdruid of the Gorsedd*, you've made mistakes in your past (or present.)

Lord knows I've made plenty of mistakes in my life. And I'm guessing you have too, dearest nerdlets.

We're human, after all.



*What, you guys don't have an Archdruid?!?! Welp, Welsh people do. 😅

But how do we decide when someone is worthy of our forgiveness?

How do we decide who is forgiven and who isn't? Do we have double-standards?

Nerd Church - Poor Towns and Ponderings

Look, the place I live in isn't rich.

Some people may call it poor. Some people may even call it a dive.

But it's OK. It's a lot less rough than a lot of the other places around.

The town my grandparents live in is a dive, with the best will in the world, I can't deny that.

Month in Review(s) - July 2018

Where did July go?!

Like... I know sometimes time goes quick, but really?!

I think it's the heat.

I spent most of the month slouching around the house, trying to cool down, and being a generally not-nice person to be around.

Me + heat = grump monster! Lol.

Nerd Church - Meta Nerd Church

(Meta = about, or self-referential/self-aware.)




I've written over 150 Nerd Church posts since I started this series in February 2015.

Yes. That's how long ago I started Nerd Church.

(Please don't look at those first posts... it's not good! 😅)

Nerd Church - Self-Care Is Vitally Important In Hot Weather

...of course, Self-Care is vitally important generally, but you get what I mean.





If you're in the middle of a heatwave like we are in the UK, then your Self-Care game needs to be sharp.