Abstract:
This creative project presents three fictional short stories, each dealing with a different
character, point of view, and aspect of desire. This collection is the culmination of my MA at
Ball State University, incorporating the craft, structure, and vulnerability that I have learned and
wrestled with throughout my time here. The first story is a third-person exploration of Tom
Stima, a man who returns to his hometown to wrestle with which is more important: his ego, or
his sister’s plan to come out to their parents. The second story, written in second-person, plays
with whimsy in its focus on the narrator’s desire for a man she has fallen in love with—a man
she has never actually met. Finally, the third story in the collection is a first-person tale of
anxiety and failure as Fitzwilliam Carden prepares to go on a date by remembering his failed
love affairs and resolving to take the plunge once more into uncertainty.
