Being Geek Chic is a blog about one woman navigating the male-dominated industries of production and tech. It's written by Elizabeth Giorgi, Founder, CEO and Director of Mighteor - one of the world's first internet video production companies. Learn more about Mighteor here.
Imagine a place where you could read books are the writer was writing them? Yeah, it sounds a little weird, but it’s actually incredibly interesting. And part of why it’s so interesting is because it’s a completely new concept being played out on WattPad. This is the future, people.
Here’s what I’m reading on WattPad right now:
150 Life Problems by Insane Demon
You have life problems. I have life problems. We have life problems. Life can kind of just be problems, you know? This ongoing story just keeps the problems coming. They are hilarious. They are sad. They are true. They are scary. They are life. Weird how life can kind of just… be everything and nothing? I know that seems entirely vague, so here’s an excerpt:
“When something goes wrong in your life…
Just yell, “PLOT TWIST!!!”
Then walk away and move on.”
Microwaved Love by Nikki
If you want to dive into the world of reading a story as a writer is tackling it, I recommend this one. Especially for the single ladies. It’s about high school love, which can be dumb, but I really enjoyed the writer’s self-awareness of the dumbness of it all.
How to Fall in Love by Myka
This story just wrapped up at the beginning of July, so you can totally binge it from cover to finish if you like. It’s silly and irreverent and will get you in a romantic mood, should you be so inclined. It feels a little like a memoir, but whose to say?
You know what else I love about WattPad? It’s the fact that commenters are part of the experience. Writers are getting to see what readers think as they go and readers can interact with each other as they read together. It’s so smart that I’m shocked it hasn’t been done before.
I was turned onto WattPad when they became a Geeks Go Glam sponsor at SDCC this year. We have a lot of love for the crew over there because they are so supportive of lady geeks online and elsewhere. If you haven’t checked out their totally free platform for finding great new reads, I really recommend it.
This post was brought to you by our sponsorship partner: WattPad! We love our sponsors because they help make Being Geek Chic happen through financial support. Being Geek Chic content is written and produced by real geeks and never comes from content mills. More than 40 million people have joined Wattpad, making it the world’s largest community of readers and writers. People use Wattpad to connect with each other while they discover and share millions of free stories. Wattpad stories are available in more than 50 languages and can be read or written from any phone, tablet, or computer. The company is proudly based in Toronto, Canada. Learn more and download their app on their website: www.wattpad.com.
Introducing Lisa Granshaw (@LisaGranshaw on Twitter). She’s a writer, producer, and geek extraordinaire. Thriving and jiving in New York City, Granshaw writes for the likes of ABC News, NBC News, Today.com, etc. Along with her writings on food, entertainment and health, Granshaw writes a slew of material on geeky topics, and is a self proclaimed “Whovian.”
My favorite posts of Granshaw’s include a feature about costumed ladies who dress up all year long, a DIY on geeky shoes including R2D2 mary-jane heels, Tardis flats, and Batgirl pumps, and an article on Doctor Who fashions dominating the Comic-Con (and beyond!) style scene.
But before you dive into her journalistic prowess, check out Granshaw’s Doctor Who interview with Being Geek Chic!
Q: If you had to choose one Doctor to arrive on your doorstep and ask you to be a companion, who would you choose and why?
A: I’d say yes to any Doctor that showed up at my door, but if I had to pick I’d choose the Tenth Doctor. He was intense about everything, whether happy, excited, sad or angry. I like that intensity.
Q: If you could ask the Doctor one question, what would it be?
A: How does he keep track of everything?! As we’ve seen with River Song and the whole story arc of season 6, things can get rather confusing in the timeline! Is there a whole room in the TARDIS with a big chart he uses to keep track of everything? Or maybe being able to make sense of it all is just a Time Lord thing?
I’d be tempted to ask him something like his biggest regret or what’s the one thing he would change if he could, but I have a feeling he’d have too many answers to both questions.
One of the best parts of watching a cult show like Downton Abbey is that the media and blogosphere continues to feed your obsession every week as each episode airs with recaps and Q&As and features on the actors, writers and directors. Amanda Dobbins writes the Downton Abbey Recaps over at New York Magazine for the Vulture blog and they’re the best. Seriously, the best.
Here’s a sampling:
“Two weeks ago, when Downton bid good-bye to poor William, this recapper made the mistake of spending her one allowable Four Weddings and a Funeral reference per season on that deathbed marriage combo. How were we to know that four weddings — or at least three sets of wedding preparations and one actual ceremony — plus yet another funeral would present themselves on a silver platter in a single (two hour) episode?”
The finale Sunday put me in a real funk. I’m frankly wondering how the hell PBS and Julian Fellowes and the whole crew at Masterpiece can expect us all to wait 11 months for another episode. However, I suppose if folks did it last year, they can do it again this time around right? If you are experiencing similar pangs of depression over your loss of weekly Mary/Matthew sexual tension, then head on over to Vulture and read Dobbins’s excellent recaps.
Maybe you’ll read the whole series over again? Doesn’t hurt to be reminded of how we almost lost hope over Matthew’s reproductive organ!
(NOTE: Amanda Dobbins isn’t actually Maggie Smith. Although, I have my suspicions. I couldn’t find a picture of Dobbins anywhere, so I’ve resorted to screengrab of my favorite Downton character.)
