How to blog here at Speculative Fiction

The purpose of the Speculative Fiction blog is to share ideas and links related to the study and enjoyment of Speculative Fiction. For Spring 2015, there will be many posts by writers in ENGL 458: Major Authors/Octavia Butler. But if you belong to the Speculative Fiction group at English @ SUNY Geneseo, you’re welcome to contribute, as well.

A post can be a few words plus a link or embedded video, or it can be a couple of paragraphs. It should be of interest to the group as a whole. It can contain some personal reflection or indicate a particular point of view, but it shouldn’t read like an entry in a personal diary (unless, for instance, you’re in the Butler class and are purposely emulating Lauren Oya Olamina, in which case you need to make that purpose clear to your readers).

If you’re in the Octavia Butler course, please follow the blogging assignment directions on the syllabus.

As Dr. Schacht has observed, blogging has become its own genre of writing, one with an informal, conversational style. But informality is no excuse for sloppiness: be thoughtful about spelling, usage, punctuation, and the rhythm of your prose.

Dr. Schacht also offers tips for following blogging conventions. For example, link by selecting text and entering the URL with the link button in the edit box’s toolbar (rather than dropping a long, ugly URL right into the middle of a paragraph); whenever possible, embed videos and images rather than simply linking to them; assign a category and some labels to your post. Remember, too, that the “Insert Read More” tag allows readers to see the first part of a long blog post and have the option to click through to see the rest.

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