1. I think the publication market “Interzone” would be good for my short story “Until the Final Whistle” because they focus on short sci-fi and fantasy stories and my story is the fantasy of many young soccer players.

2. The short story “Zima Blue” fits in the category of sci-fi because it is all about robots and how AI in robots can give them the same dilemmas that us humans face.

Start: Organize further in advance who submits pieces when.

Stop: Requiring an annotated copy of the piece.

Continue: The relaxed atmosphere during the meetings.

The in class workshops had been working extremely well while we were still able to meet in class. Being able to talk with the class about what was and wasn’t working in the stories is really beneficial for the author as well as the critics. As a critic, listening to what the others comment on, I feel like I have been able to more effectively give feedback that is actually helpful to the author. However, since we’ve had to switch to online, it doesn’t quite have the same feel since it seems much more rushed to get through everyone’s comments. On the other hand it helps with being able to re-read the comment as many times as you need to fully understand what is being said as opposed to trying to understand just from one quick verbal explanation before moving on to the next speaker. Something I think that could be improved upon is the responsiveness of everyone in the class. It doesn’t always seem like everyone manages to reply to all the different pieces. This would help give more chances for the author to see how varying different readers will react towards their piece.

Take your pencil and put it to the paper. Let your hands dance across the keyboard. Start with something. Anything. No matter how small, or how insignificant. Start small and build from there. This new world is yours to create and do with as you please, so have fun.

There was once a man who knew nothing of where he was. He did not mind for he had all he thought he could possibly want, food, water, and a place to call his home. 

One day, he came across a travelling man who told tales from seemingly far beyond the mans small world. This far away world seemed so different. So the man asked the traveller if he too could come see this new world. The traveller obliged and off they went, to go explore the greater unknown. 

After some time, the man grew weary of the journey and asked the traveler if they could rest. However, the traveler insisted that they keep moving. On they travelled. Autumn came and went. The winter was long and harsh, but nonetheless the traveler and the man persisted, continuing the journey. 

Finally, once Spring came around, the traveler turned to the man and said 

“We are here.”

The man stepped past the traveler, and what lay before his eyes was everything he could possibly dream of and more.

The journey may be long and treacherous, but the end result can be whatever you so desire. Just take it one step at a time.

This is my favourite piece that I have written for creative writing thus far. Writing this piece was interesting because I didn’t know exactly what was supposed to be done for the assignment, but it was a lot of fun to write because it was so open to interpretation which allowed me to write whatever came to mind. One thing I learned from this was that I need to work on my details, and how to properly format dialogue in my work.

This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.

You’re going to publish a post today. Don’t worry about how your blog looks. Don’t worry if you haven’t given it a name yet, or you’re feeling overwhelmed. Just click the “New Post” button, and tell us why you’re here.

Why do this?

• Because it gives new readers context. What are you about? Why should they read your blog?
• Because it will help you focus you own ideas about your blog and what you’d like to do with it.

The post can be short or long, a personal intro to your life or a bloggy mission statement, a manifesto for the future or a simple outline of your the types of things you hope to publish.

To help you get started, here are a few questions:

• Why are you blogging publicly, rather than keeping a personal journal?
• What topics do you think you’ll write about?
• Who would you love to connect with via your blog?
• If you blog successfully throughout the next year, what would you hope to have accomplished?

You’re not locked into any of this; one of the wonderful things about blogs is how they constantly evolve as we learn, grow, and interact with one another — but it’s good to know where and why you started, and articulating your goals may just give you a few other post ideas.

Can’t think how to get started? Just write the first thing that pops into your head. Anne Lamott, author of a book on writing we love, says that you need to give yourself permission to write a “crappy first draft”. Anne makes a great point — just start writing, and worry about editing it later.

When you’re ready to publish, give your post three to five tags that describe your blog’s focus — writing, photography, fiction, parenting, food, cars, movies, sports, whatever. These tags will help others who care about your topics find you in the Reader. Make sure one of the tags is “zerotohero,” so other new bloggers can find you, too.