 Short Stories: October 07, 2009 Issue [#3321] |
  Short Stories
This week: Edited by: Ben Langhinrichs  
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vignette \vin-ˈyet, vēn-\
a short descriptive literary sketch; a brief incident or scene
short story \shawrt stawr-ee, stohr-ee\
a short piece of prose fiction, having few characters and aiming at unity of effect
Greetings! I am one of the editors for the Short Stories Newsletter, and I hope to share some of my thoughts on writing short stories, and perhaps about writing in general. I suggest you treat these not as pearls of wisdom dropped from on high, but rather musings of a fellow writer, written to inspire, provoke or stimulate your personal muse. I welcome your thoughts, feedback and suggestions. - Ben Langhinrichs
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Vignette or Short Story?
Every once in a while, I will write a piece that feels to me like a short story, but when I get the reviews back, one of comments will be: "It is really more of a vignette than a story." I thought it might be useful to discuss the difference, and to point out a few pros and cons of each.
A classic creative writing seminar description of the difference is that a short story must follow a pattern, beginning/conflict/resolution/ending, or as it is sometimes described, conflict/crisis/resolution. There are also alternative descriptions of a short story, such the "apocalyptic arc", in which the pattern described above is replaced by destruction/chaos/new-order. A vignette is different because it does not follow the full pattern. A vignette, which is essentially a scene or sketch, might then be described as an interrupted arc.
But notice that length has nothing to do with it. You can have a short-short story or a long vignette. It is the arc which differentiates.
Let’s look at a specific example. To keep this newsletter at a reasonable length, I’ll just use one of my 100-word stories (you are not allowed to repeat any word):
Breakfast ruined?
Imagine my joy when arising early yesterday to discover breakfast waiting upon our veranda. "Thanks, honey!" I shouted joyfully. Bacon, eggs, grits - what heavenly delight! Then, thunder, lightning, torrential downpour, thrashing winds, crashing limbs - holy cow! Retiring inside, watching her delightful repast, delectable goodies all, completely deluged, destroyed, she cried, no, wept with utter abandon!
The difficulty was, obviously, a complete lack of alternative supplies. Kitchen cleaned out, larder sadly lacking, refrigerator regretfully barren, downstairs freezer frigid but devoid except frosty air.
Hunger overtaking sense, desperately we rummaged, searched, plundered. Finally, way back behind powdered sugar – Eureka! Snap, Crackle, Pop!
This is certainly short, but is it a vignette or a short story? I’d argue that it is the latter. You have a beginning where all is well, a conflict inflicted by a stray thunderstorm, crisis because they have nothing left in the house to eat, and resolution and ending when they find the Rice Krispies. Similarly. I have written stories that were a couple of thousand words long that were more vignette than story.
But is there anything wrong with a vignette? Should you scrap your piece because it doesn’t follow the traditional arcs? Certainly not. It is a valid point for a reviewer to make because many places that publish short stories may turn their noses up at a vignette, but not all stories need to be published elsewhere, and a vignette can be a wonderful and powerful piece of writing without being a short story. A good vignette can be used to describe a vivid character, pose a dilemma, paint a setting in the reader’s mind, illustrate a political point or just intrigue the reader about a food or place or person. Short stories are wonderful (this is a short story newsletter – what did you expect me to say), but by their very completeness, they have already solved the conflict and provided the resolution. Vignettes leave more of the arc for the reader to fill in.
It is useful to be self-critical and realize whether you are writing a short story or vignette. Looking at the story above, would it be a good vignette if I dropped any one of the paragraphs? Not really. A vignette may represent an interrupted arc, but it must be designed carefully to give the reader a momentum and interest in continuing. Otherwise, it is just an incomplete short story.
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An eloquent scene of shared sorrow
A scene with multiple characters in a slice-of-life vignette
A fantastical vignette of a girl, her city, and a traveler
An autobiographical character sketch
A series of related vignettes (inspired by music)
A sketch of illness
Making a political/philosophical point
Vivid imagery of death and dementia, using lots of senses
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From Stephanie  :
Great idea, Ben! I love quirky characters, but, as you point out, never as main characters. On second thought, maybe there too. But now I'm excited to see where I can add an interesting secondary character to some of my stories.
From pinklacebows:
Thank you very much for the newsletter on secondary characters. It provided me with the right amount of insight and helped me get out of the land of the writer's block. Thanks Ben!
From peach :
Ben, I just finished the short story newsletter and wanted to tell you you did a fantastic job. The piece you wrote about sidekicks, etc. was well organized, thoughtfully presented and easy to understand. I appreciate the amount of time you put into the newsletter - peach
From Winnie Kay  :
Hi, Ben. Your advice on secondary characters was eye-opening for me. I never thought of them as possessing the power to enhance a main character or a plot. Thanks. I'll be applying your concept to my next short.
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