As I work toward my bachelor’s in Creative Writing, I’m coming up with a slew of stories, poems, essays, and other projects. While some students will just save them as something to look back on for a bit of nostalgia, I plan on using them in the very near future.
And based on the courses that are coming up for my degree, I’m going to have a large library of content.
Well, that is, as long as I spend some time editing and polishing before hitting the publish button. And no, I don’t intend on taking months to edit and polish every piece of content. Sometimes, you need to call it good and move on, right, Mr. Neil Gaiman?
So, What Am I Doing with the University Content?
Back in the day, I used to practice writing with no intention of publishing the piece anywhere online. I’ve written fake reviews of products and a lot of sales copy to help hone my skills for various clients on Textbroker.
Nowadays, I rarely view anything as unpublishable. That’s because I am comfortable and confident in what I create, and would like to inspire others to put themselves out there to get noticed.
Do I think one of my essays will drive in tens of thousands of readers? No. But to those who follow and subscribe to the blogs, it may be something impactful to them in some way.
Blog Content
First, I’ve written a lot of content for college thus far that fits with my various blogs. I always keep marketing in mind when it comes to new projects from my college work. The plan is to revise the pieces and publish them according to the blog’s niche.
Of course, most of the things I write about are about writing itself. So, quite a few will probably go on this blog, perhaps Substack, and MichaelBrockbank.com. It really depends on whether the materials are right for any given website.
This is quite helpful as it keeps the blogs active and current, two things that Google loves. Besides, I write about a lot of things in college that most of you would probably want to read, especially when it comes to the essays about generative AI.
Anthologies on Free Reading Platforms
During some of my college classes, I’ve written a lot of fantasy stories. During the Creative Writing Workshop, I decided to write quite a few anthologies depending on the work assignments. Thus, Serpent’s Tale on Wattpad was born: a collection of short stories that happen between my books Kingmaker and Fury.
I plan to keep writing for Serpent’s Tale until Fury is published. So, there might be quite a few stories within the anthology before I am done. For now, I have a handful that are just waiting to be published.
I view the short stories as a way to market myself as an author while hopefully pointing a few people to the series on Amazon.
Starters for Much Longer Books
A few of the short stories I’ve written and the feedback from my reading groups gave me ideas for much longer books down the road. I made a promise to myself to finish writing one before starting another project. So, I’m not sure when these will get written. However, the ideas were quite plentiful.
This includes everything from going deeper into the Dark Western ideas beyond Shadows of Atlantic City, as well as some Dark Sci-Fi ideas that spawned while reading the works of other students.
That’s why it’s important to read more and go beyond your preferred genre for writing. You never know who will inspire what until you give a book a chance.
Continued Build of an Online Portfolio
One of the reasons why I was able to take over Google Search for my name is because of the massive online portfolio I’ve built. I try to remain as active as possible as a writer, and am currently working on getting the illustrious “Author Card” (Google Knowledge Panel) for myself.
As a writer and author, your name is your brand, and you want to get it recognized in as many places as possible. It’s not just your books that need marketing, despite what someone on Threads or TikTok says.
So, yes, build the blog with your name as the domain and share your body of work with fans and readers. Even if you built the blog with a pen name, it’s better than not having an online presence at all.
Two Birds with One Stone
In the past, one of the things that held back creating blog content was the lack of time. In this case, however, I feel that I am doing two things at once. I am creating content for the class while potentially working on a blog post that I intend to publish.
In reality, this has been extremely helpful. I don’t have to stress too much about trying to squeeze in a couple of hours when my day is usually tapped out anyway.
Hopefully, I’ll be able to continue doing something similar with future classes. I suppose it all depends on what courses I’m taking during the semester and how much writing I’ll do that can easily be published on a blog.
Expanding on Anthropology and Why
During the Spring Semester at the University of Colorado in 2026, I decided to take the anthropology class, Lost Worlds & Crystal Skulls. About halfway through the course, I rekindled a love for anthropological archaeology, something I’ve enjoyed since watching Indiana Jones when it came out.
Initially, I was going to use the course as a way to inspire new writing ideas. Playing on ancient mysteries and understanding cultural development goes a long way to put together some interesting tales with rich world-building aspects.
Well, now, I am looking to earn a degree in anthropology as well as writing. And building a blog is a great way to keep practicing for both anthropology and blogging. It may also lay the groundwork for future books regarding the cultures I study.
One of the things that made me such a good and successful freelancer was how I built WriterSanctuary. This blog was meant as a way to document the process of becoming a writer, sharing everything I learned throughout the years in the hopes I can help someone else along the way.
With the anthropology blog, I hope to do something similar. It will be a log of everything I learn while helping people along the way. Not to mention that I like the idea of contributing to actual science.
Does that mean I am giving up on freelancing, blogging, and self-publishing? Absolutely not. I love anthropology, but writing is in my blood. I can combine both to fulfill a lot of my hopes and dreams from childhood. Besides, I am still confident that anthropology can do a lot in the way of story ideas.
So, rest assured, I’ll be publishing essays from anthropology classes on that blog as well.
It’s All Continued Practice
Anything you write, whether it’s public-facing or not, is practice. The more you practice, the better you become over time. I only publish work on the sites as a way to promote and market myself as an author and blogger. Perhaps in a few years, I’ll be able to add anthropologist to that list.
Will everything I write throughout college make it to blogs and books? I don’t know, to be honest. I suppose that really depends on the classes I’ll be taking. However, I would like to use as much as I can in any capacity beyond turning it in as a school project.
In any case, I’ll continue to practice both fiction and non-fiction while testing the waters of what I’d like to create.
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