My initial thought when seeing “Natural selection” was that it is going to be a very suspenseful book with a lot of plot along with a mysterious person or animal that will make the story exciting to read. The description on the back made me interested in the book by describing a creature in a vague way that made me want to learn more. I decided this was the book I wanted to read because it seems interesting with a good story. I expect that this book will be a page turner because it will make you wonder when the monster will appear next and how they will beat it.

I lay staring at the ceiling in my practically dark bedroom. The only light in the room is from my alarm clock reading 2:59 am. I turn on my side facing the clock and I watch as it turns to three. As soon as the clock reads 3:00 am, it shuts off as if it was unplugged. I reach out to touch it and my hand makes contact with it. I quickly pull my hand back with a burning sensation shooting throughout my hand. I blow on my hand trying to make the pain cease. I hear my closet doors slowly creak open. I look in the direction of the closet but it’s useless because of the thick darkness that fills the room. I reach over and turn on my lamp. I see a hand with bony fingers on both of the doors, pushing them apart. My eyes widen as I feel my body filling with fear. The light in the lamp shatters making me flinch but not take my eyes off the closet that I now isn’t visible. I hear them begin to creak open again and my breathing rapidly increases with each second the creaking echos through my room. After what felt like an eternity, the creaking stopped. But the creaking was followed by a much worse sound. The creature let out a wail that shook my whole body . I hear footsteps walking to the end of my bed. I scream as i feel

the thing’s hand grab my foot and slowly pull me towards the end of the bed. The clock and the lamp turn back on and the clock says its 4:00 am. I look at the foot of my bed and there is nothing. I stare in shock to see my closet doors were closed. I crawl back up to the headboard and and keep the lamp on as I wait for the sun to rise because I don’t trust the darkness anymore.

The woods had an eerie feeling as I walked through the dense fog. I know I shouldn’t be here but I needed to see it for myself. My steps are slow and steady as I make my way deeper into the forest. The leaves ruffle under my feet with each step. I stop to listen for it and I hear nothing. I start walking again and from behind me I hear running footsteps. I turn around to have my eyes fall upon the creature which will bring me my demise. I knew if i found it, I would spend my last moments in these woods. I watch it bounding towards me and I accept my inevitable death.

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.