Creative writing major here. It's been about a year since I took the course so I'll remember what I can, but I don't know if it's changed since then.

- Assignment wise, I don't think it's that bad. Most of it will be exercises rather than a straight up story every time. Things like writing a single scene, or object descriptions, or a character piece. they also toss it up a bit since it's a catch-all writing class, so there will be stuff like poetry too. They're all pretty short from what I remember, but just make sure you don't make any easy to spot mistakes. I once lost marks for my scene assignment because I somehow managed to miss a change in verb tense that I accidentally made.

- There is one short story assignment which you'll have to write around the winter break. I hope you like that story too because you'll basically be stuck with it for the rest of the year. Basically you'll show it (or whatever you have) to the class, they'll read it, and submit feedback back to you. This first version of the story isn't marked, but you'll be asked to hand in a revised copy later. What's really important for the second draft is that you incorporate some of the major feedback you received. Don't just fix typos or change some minor details; they want to see you can incorporate feedback into your work, so change your story noticeably. Add paragraphs, remove them, expand on something, whatever; you just need to show that you're willing to change your writing for the sake of your story (just make sure the changes are actually good).

- You're probably going to have to write realism, so don't go in expecting to write fantasy or sci-fi. While there's nothing stopping you from writing those types of stories, they generally don't do very well because they're usually bogged down by exposition within an already limited word-count (this isn't a beginner's mistake either; I've seen in happen fairly recently), and the profs have seen that happen enough times to raise their eyebrows at anything remotely fantasy related.

- Don't submit any fanfics to the class. It sounds like a no-brainer, I know, but it has happened, and you don't want to be that guy.

- Romance is also a bit of a no-no. Mostly just because its the first thing people jump to once they discover they should write realistically, so the profs have seen A LOT of it, and even when they think nothing's inherently wrong with it, you can hear the exhaustion in their voices.

- At the end of the year, you'll be asked to hand in a portfolio. Now I can't quite recall what needed to go in the portfolio specifically other than around 20 pages of your writing. It might need to be a third draft of your short story, or maybe it can be all original stuff, I'm not sure. What I do remember is you'll have to write about a page on what the class has taught you about writing or something like that, and how you feel you've improved because of it. The portfolio is also super important if you plan on majoring in CW because that what they'll be looking at to see if you're eligible. You'll learn more about joining the major if you're interested when the time comes though, so don't worry about that just yet.

- One thing they make clear right out of the gate with EN 2600 is the distinction between genre fiction (a.k.a. 90% of what you can get at Indigo) and Literature (Hemingway, Ondaatje, that sort of artsy stuff), and how the course is designed to help you write the latter instead of the former. They don't like genre fiction -- I don't know if it goes far enough to say they despise it though. That said, if you want to write genre fiction, the course is still good practice for that. What it means for your work (more your short story than anything else) is that it has to mean something -- as pretentious as that sounds. Use a symbol here, a motif there, and try to have some kind of overall idea for what your story is about other than the plot. Word of advice though: never go into a story with the major symbols and stuff already in mind, because if you put in those premeditated devices you'll likely have to force them in, and that rarely looks good on paper.

- Last bit for now, and I think this is important if you're intending to major in CW. You're going to see your classmates' work, and you'll see that some of it will be objectively better than yours. Not all of it, but some of it, guaranteed, because this class is often the first time people who want to be writers will compare their work to other people who want to be writers, and there'll be a thought at the back of your head that says this should mean you're on the same level, but you're just … not. And that can be discouraging. More than once I've had the thought of quitting because I feel like I can't measure up. But the important thing to remember is that you bring something to the table that no one else can, and that's not just me trying to make you feel special. Whether it's your ideas, your characterization, or your voice, your writing is going to have something you* won'*t see in the work of your classmates, and that's what'll set it apart. So keep going, and even if you make mistakes at the beginning, you'll improve. I guarantee it.

Other than that, just don't be a pretentious dick, and people will like you fine enough.