Last story in

(Picture from January 2019.)
Today, I handed in the last piece of new fiction I'll write as part of my MFA programme. My first hand-in was on September 9 last year. In the seven months in between, I've written eight short stories from scratch and 50 first-draft pages of my novel. One of my stories won the Mississippi Review Fiction Prize, for which I still feel very lucky. Another story is out on submission, and there are a few more I'll revise over the summer.

Other achievements of this period:

• Surviving a dry-but-still-very-cold Boston winter with the aid of solid winter boots (thank you, Wirecutter reviews) and all manner of Uniqlo Heat Tech garments.
• Managing several winter hikes (snow, ice and all), thanks to the abovementioned winter boots. I wish I'd squeezed in a few more before the snow all melted.
• Learning not to overthink (still learning; my website domain name still stands).
• Coping with the unexpected volleys life throws at you.
• Making friends in the MFA classroom---and in unexpected places beyond.
• Mastering the comma before the independent clause.

Meanwhile, the magnolias are flowering, and the daffodils are coming up, whether in flower beds or as part of the Marathon Daffodils project. It's like a switch flipped in the ground after the spring equinox. I have to start paying attention to flowers and learning the different species again (I was doing it in the fall, until there were no more leaves to help me make identifications on Pl@ntNet).

I still have plenty of writing to do over the summer. The MFA creative thesis requires 90 pages of revised fiction from my last seven months, plus there are a couple of short story ideas that I didn't have the time or wherewithal to pursue during term-time. Plus I need to finish my novel manuscript.

Tonight, though, I'm thinking about the last few lines of the story I just submitted:

"Well, since we’re all the way out here in this strange corner of Singapore, where can we go next?"
"Aren’t you tired?"
"I can walk a little more—if you’re up for it."
Sharlene removed her hat and sunglasses. "Well, what do you want to see?"