Writing Class

Eddie McDermott arrives late to a college writing class and quickly discovers that Professor Carner has little patience for familiar formulas. In this course, alien creatures must be described without tired comparisons, interstellar villains need understandable motives, and even a war for Earth must make logical sense. For Eddie, who prefers terrifying monsters and straightforward evil, the lesson is less inspiring than it is exhausting.

But Professor Carner’s rules conceal a deeper challenge: can anyone write about other worlds without relying on the assumptions and clichés of ordinary science fiction? As Eddie and his classmates wrestle with their assignments, their classroom discussion becomes a playful examination of storytelling, originality, and the conventions that shape our ideas of the unknown. Witty, brisk, and gently satirical, this short science-fiction tale is an entertaining listen for anyone who enjoys imaginative worlds—and the art of taking them apart.