On Desire

On Desire

If my students remember anything about me, it will probably be how much I love Flannery O’Connor, Robert Olen Butler, Pinckney Benedict, Charles Baxter and other literary heroes. If they remember anything I’ve said, it will probably have something to do with conflict, the accumulation of detail, change, meaning, or desire. Yearning, I remind them,…

What We Mean When We Talk About Meaning in Short Fiction

In order to understand meaning in short fiction, you may also want to look back at “What is a Story, as Opposed to a Vignette?” whereby I attempt to define a short story, and “The Intersection of Pity & Fear: A Look at Endings in Short Fiction” where part of what I attempt to unravel…

The Intersection of Pity and Fear: At Look at Endings in Short Fiction

I’m re-posting older essays from my previous blog 50 shimmering pages. Love to hear what you think. October 6, 2013 For my craft thesis in the MFA program, I wrote an essay called “The End is Near: Examining the ‘Satisfying’ Ending in Short Stories.” I’m currently revising my short fiction in hopes of pulling together…