Wow

I'm not even sure what to say about my second MFA residency. I learned so much, yet I can't think of one single point that makes sense to post about. I guess the biggest (and hardest!) lesson was that even though I've learned SO much in the last six months, I still have a long way to go to completely understanding the art of creating a short story.

Now that I understand the basics of story arch (though I don't always employ those basics well), I need to use other elements to make sure the story gets told in the best and clearest way. My new mentor, Christina Shea (who seems brilliant), talked to me about how I need use all the elements of the story, like setting, the details of the characters, and the plot to truly maximize the potential of the story's theme. For example, think about what setting a story in NYC says about the theme as compared to say, setting it in a smaller city. This is all fairly overwhelming--so much to think about!-- but at least I know enough now to realize what I don't know, which is half the battle, I think.