The Nonstory and Other Stories
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Abstract
The following is a selection of my writing from 2018 to present. I consider the work I have completed during my years at UMKC to be a series of experiments in the short fiction form, and I believe that this thesis is a reflection of that. As with all experiments, I consider some to be more successful than others, but I believe each of these to be an important stepping stone in my progression as a writer. I have chosen to present these thirty-one pieces in reverse chronological order of when they were written. The earliest stories, the last in order of contents, I think demonstrate the beginnings of my development of what I feel is my voice as a writer. Around the point of ‘The nonstory,’ I feel that that voice emerged with greater force, and I began to feel that the succeeding stories gradually built on this tone with increasing ease. Revisiting these stories has allowed me to see my growth as a writer, as well as the progression of the themes and concepts that have been important to me at different periods, as well as those that have endured throughout all. Perhaps the key theme that unites all of these stories, which was not entirely evident to me until I assembled them all, is the fact that they all are more or less centered around our relationships with each other. In the writing of these stories, I was interested in many different types of interpersonal relationships; between friends, lovers, former lovers, (grand)parents and (grand)children, neighbors, strangers, colleagues, and even, numerously, ghosts. This is an interest of mine in fiction that has been encouraged from reading stories by writers such as Sarah Winman, Ali Smith, Tove Jansson, Muriel Spark, Toni Morrison and David Mitchell, whose fiction is inhabited by a wide variety of age groups and characters of different backgrounds and walks of life. I had a strong desire to explore types of relationships that appear less frequently in fiction; cross-generational friendships, for example, as in ‘The neighbor,’ as well as ghosts that inspire annoyance and inconvenience in their haunted more than they do fear, such as in ‘The visitor’ and ‘A story of sensation.’ I had a strong desire to explore types of relationships that appear less frequently in fiction; cross-generational friendships, for example, as in ‘The neighbor,’ as well as ghosts that inspire annoyance and inconvenience in their haunted more than they do fear, such as in ‘The visitor’ and ‘A story of sensation.’ Drawing on this point, I see that another thread found throughout my work is the theme of ghosts in the metaphorical sense; the everyday things that haunt us as human beings and that affect our intrapersonal relationships, too. I have tried to include some of these ghosts in the themes of many of these stories. Another aspect of writing these stories that I have seen as an opportunity for experimentation is trying different narrative points of view. I have found that finding the right voice or tone for a story has a lot to do with the point of view that it is set in; stories can shift tremendously depending on the perspective in place. In more recent stories, experimenting with time and place has become increasingly important to me as a writer. I have enjoyed trying my hand at writing historical fiction, as well as stories that move around in time. Several of the stories feature connections that are referenced in the form of characters and themes. Completing this thesis has given me a greater understanding of what fiction can do, how it can be done, and perhaps most importantly, why we write in the first place. I feel that I now have a much greater understanding of the kind of writing that I would like to do in the future. Following working with these slightly shorter pieces of writing, I would like to use the skills and techniques that I have developed through the years to write stories with greater breadth and scope, and to venture into writing longer short fiction and novels.
Table of Contents
Abstract -- That moment when -- The weatherman -- A Shad tale’s best for winter -- The fallout -- Christmas 1951 -- Several miles north and several decades later -- Holly and Ivy -- Night-scented stock -- The boys in palliative care -- Why I write -- Those aren’t cath’s grandchildren -- A story of sensation -- Late spring -- Romantic -- The ear -- A view -- Going somewhere -- Loose change -- People die every day -- The neighbor -- Names for things -- Three snapshots of a family -- The visitor -- Last -- Love song -- Artful -- The incidental story -- The nonstory -- The end of us -- A train of thought -- October -- Blue -- Customs
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M.F.A. (Master of Fine Arts)