UC Irvine

ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS

A Collection of Short Storiesby Derek Rea Moseley Master of Fine Arts in English University of California, Irvine, 2022 Professor Michelle Latiolais, Chair

These short stories present a variety of lives in rural Tennessee. My characters often struggle to live in small towns where they may long for a better life; sometimes that includes career mobility, the yearning for forbidden love, the desire for fulfillment, and the longing to be seen despite the obstacles that arise while living in towns that do not possess the benefits of a metropolitan area. Many of my characters may long to leave the rural South, or at the least they may want to relocate to a larger city so that they can live full and rich lives. My characters often go to great lengths to travel for love or to earn a living because of their geographic limitations.

Although my process of writing varies with each story, there are common elements I employ in almost all of my fiction. As a writer, I want to be surprised. I have found that if I am not surprised, the reader will most likely not be surprised. I also aim for the plot to evolve from characters. I hope to show how characters interact with each other, and how they face conflicts as they change through their experiences. At the University of California, Irvine, I have also expanded my use of point of view. I try not to stand in the way of my characters as their stories unfold. Sometimes that involves trying out various points of view. I try to convey characters’ voices on the page respectfully and authentically.