Hi, Casey! It sounds like you may have gotten a bit too much flour in your measuring cup. If you visit our How to Measure Flour guide, it'll show you the technique for getting just the right amount of flour into your starter, and no more. In the meantime, feel free to give your starter extra water until it's about the consistency of pancake batter. As to your cover, we'd suggest either plastic wrap lightly covering your container, or a lid that's on loosely (not airtight). A towel will probably let a fair bit of moisture out of your container and leave you with a dry, crusty top to your starter. Happy baking! 

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