I was a writer from as early as I can remember (at around 8 I started writing novel-length stories!), but past the self-consciousness of adolescence I didn’t come back to it in any serious way until I did an MA in my 20s. It was around this time that I discovered Raymond Carver and loved his deceptively simplistic style, and how much is said through pauses and blank spaces. I also loved how often the dialogue was awkward and repetitive, but how natural it felt in that awkwardness. I could name any number of short stories that I loved, but the one I return to now is:
Thanks for this! I loved three of the stories, thanks so much for sharing.