{"id":30414,"date":"2017-01-18T15:01:35","date_gmt":"2017-01-18T20:01:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/?p=30414"},"modified":"2017-01-19T09:55:15","modified_gmt":"2017-01-19T14:55:15","slug":"space-to-write","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/2017\/01\/18\/space-to-write\/","title":{"rendered":"Space to Write"},"content":{"rendered":"When I tell people that I'm a writer, a surprising reaction that I often get is \"I used to write too, but I never have the time anymore,\" or \"I write too, but I'm too scared\u00a0to show anyone my work.\" Both of these feelings are completely understandable, and a large part of my university career has been navigating those challenges. One way that I've found addresses both problems is writing for on-campus publications, which U of T has many of. Having a deadline ensures that I make time to write and passing it through editors makes me more confident about putting my work out there. My writing has gotten infinitely stronger because of this.\r\n\r\n
\"The<\/a>
Source: The Varsity<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\nMost student newspapers are continuously looking for contributors, and it's easy to get involved. I've written for\u00a0The Varsity\u00a0<\/em>since first year; getting started simply took emailing editors (addresses listed on the website) and either pitching a piece or asking to chat about what they're looking for. The same applies to college-specific newspapers, such as\u00a0The Strand.<\/em>\r\n\r\nIf creative writing is more your thing, journals are also abundant, such as the\u00a0Hart House Review<\/em>. Don't be discouraged if your work does not get accepted the first time, or the second, or the third (Acta Victoriana\u00a0<\/i>has never accepted any of my pieces). Plenty of other\u00a0options exist.\u00a0The Goose\u00a0<\/em>journal for short fiction makes a point of publishing new writers.\u00a0Dear Damsels<\/a>,<\/em>\u00a0though not based at U of T, is an online female creative writing collective that I've found super easy to submit to.\r\n\r\n
\"Acta<\/a>
Source: Acta Victoriana<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\nOn a similar vein, I wrote biweekly for the online female magazine\u00a0Her Campus UToronto\u00a0<\/em>in my second\u00a0year; though this isn't a creative publication, I found the blogging experience very rewarding and easy to fit into my schedule.\u00a0Additionally,\u00a0<\/em>depending on your interests, many publications also have a theme.\u00a0The Spectatorial\u00a0<\/em>specializes in speculative writing of all kinds -- fantasy, science fiction, magic realism.\u00a0Project Boundless<\/a>,\u00a0<\/em>which I've loved writing for, focuses on identity. Recently,\u00a0Sail Magazine<\/a>\u00a0at Vic also launched, with a focus on diasporic perspectives.\u00a0Though it's not my favourite form of writing, academic journals also exist for every discipline. This provides a good opportunity to polish or expand on a strong paper.\r\n\r\nCourse-wise, the Writing and Rhetoric department offers several great classes that I feel everyone could benefit from, such as Written Discourse. Although U of T offers few creative writing classes, they do exist. Seminar in Creative Writing (INI311Y) is a particularly wonderful one for beginners and gives a good overview of fiction writing. I've found the weekly exercises fun and a good way of detaching from academic work. Vic also offers several workshops in poetry, creative nonfiction, and short fiction -- some of which require applications -- but no prerequisites are needed.\r\n\r\nAll that aside, journalling and blogging have been constants for me for years. Various studies cite the benefits of keeping a daily journal, and I've definitely found that it helps me reflect and relax at the end of the day. It's also a stress-free activity, because I don't have to show anyone if I don't want to. If nothing else,\u00a0writing down a few things that made me happy every day puts me in a better mindset before bed. I've never regretted spending the extra time -- a few minutes to a few hours -- on making the time to write.\r\n\r\n\"Journalling<\/a>\r\n\r\nAnd whether you love to write, read, knit, bake, or whatever activity floats your boat, remember to make space for what you love -- because U of T seriously has a club for everything!","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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\nWhen I tell people that I'm a writer, a surprising reaction that I often get is \"I used to write too, but I never have the time anymore,\" or \"I write too, but I'm too scared\u00a0to show anyone my work.\"…\n<\/div>
Continue reading “Space to Write”<\/span>…<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>
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