It begins...today we turn in a purple piece of paper called the project preference form on which we make a brief statement of our plans for the upcoming semester. For me, it's all about the novel, the novel, the novel. Specifically, I want to figure out how to move toward writing a novel's middle and end (I have a bunch of page, but everything so far like "promising first chapters"). I plan to read novels as well, to see how the masters dealt with structure, sequence and pacing.

This afternoon we hear short readings from the new students, always a diverse and talented bunch. My hall mate is a new student--a Korean-American now permanently residing in Seoul. She's very friendly and reminds me a LOT of an old friend, Je.