Truman says:

(one of the fountains on campus; I took this last semester)

"When seriously explored, the short story seems to me the most difficult

and disciplining form of prose writing extant. Whatever control and technique

I may have I owe entirely to my training in this medium." --Capote

And as if I needed another reason to love him, I found this little gem of a "quote" via an interview in the Paris Review from 1957. But in all honesty, I have only read In Cold Blood (and one short story for class). I probably need to obtain some Capote and start reading, STAT!

I've been thinking a lot about literature (novels, short stories), writers (dead, alive), and writing (theirs, my own). Which is what the whole MFA experience is about (partially). It's an atmosphere that can foster amazing thoughts.

I mean, look at the fountain--the light coming from the corner...great atmosphere, right?

The problem may be my ability to "write" everything that I come up with down. I know some consider thinking as a form of writing because our thoughts are written onto our brains--but they can get lost or muddled.

I have a yellow legal pad (I've given up on "regular" notebook paper) with all sorts of thoughts scrawled across it. But just yesterday I couldn't "find" something I knew I had written down, and then I did--on the very first page!

Whoops!

My learning "face" is working (I had a professor come up to me after class last night because I had "had the most obvious reaction" during his lecture).

And my classmates keep reminding me about my learning "noises" too. They're often imitated for emphasis (legendary at this point).

(Have you noticed all of my Asides? It's like Shakespeare up in here!) As long as I don't lose my mind over the next 2.9 years, I'll survive. Party Up!

~~J