Clay street.

Abstract

This thesis, Clay Street, is a collection of three short stories with an introduction. The introduction explains what I believe good fiction writing must include, the influences on my writing, and what I try to accomplish in my writing. The stories are independent even though the protagonists live on the same street. The first work, "Paula Bargar," is about a single waitress and mother of one daughter. Paula is lonely and demands the attentions of her married lover Teddy. Paula is unstable and finds herself engaging in abnormal behavior such as scratching a car's paint. "Jimmy Ray" is about a young man who becomes infatuated with Jan, the girlfriend of Martin, a friend of Jimmy's. Jimmy realizes that Martin does not respect him and treats him badly. Jimmy gets into a fight with Martin over the treatment of Jan. Jimmy experiences the loss of respect and friendship from Jan. "Wally Stogsdill" is about a frustrated dentist who is losing badly needed patients to a new dentist in the town. Wally's inability to face and cope with reality lead him to bizarre actions.