A vignette is defined as a short
impressionistic scene that focuses on one moment or gives a trenchant
impression about a character, an idea, or a setting and sometimes an object,
and as such need not contain the classic story elements: protagonist, conflict, obstacles
or complications, and resolution.
Vignettes are stories that may have no plot
but suggest one, leaving the reader to imagine those details. The point of the stories
is to focus on individual moments, and give an impression of a character or
place.
As a literary device it went out of fashion
in the nineteenth century but I continue to employ it because it is the writing
equivalent to people watching and I find it fascinating.
There is something very lyrical, magical
and poetic about moments. The larger picture is a canvas, but a vignette offers
color, texture, not a clear picture necessarily.
The reason I am fascinated by vignettes is
tied to memory. Some people remember entire narratives in extraordinary detail.
Most people I have encountered remember sketches that left an impression for
what they made them feel at the time.
These days, vignettes are more often
associated with theatre or film. It works in film especially because it is
generally surrounded by a larger story and it’s all connected into a larger
narrative.
To me the most powerful vignette in film is
in “Blade Runner” – it lasts less than two minutes and yet as I remember the
details, the moment stretches into so many impressions that it is a larger
memory. It is just a moment but one of profound beauty and gravitas.
“I've seen things you people wouldn't
believe.” This line transforms me and I can
see each frame of that scene at a slower pace. I remember details that are not
necessarily there, they are emotional impressions that have stayed with me for
years since I first saw this. “All those moments will be lost in time,
like tears in rain. Time to die.”
I rewrote that in my memory and what I
remember may very well resemble what millions others saw, but it means
something different and some details are more prominent than others. That is
what memory does and that is why vignettes fascinate me: emotion, like
perspective, changes everything.
To me life is made up of these moments. The
connections don’t lose significance because I don’t focus on them. I just get drawn
in by the simple beauty of a single moment – and by beauty I may mean color or its
inherent musicality. Whatever it means, it is visceral and grand – whether elegant
or inelegant – because it imparts some truth that reaches each individual as a
personal emotional appeal.
That was what I was going for with Because
She was a Woman – of which How Nadine and Libby Escaped Destiny is but a preview (still available as a free download on
Smashwords). I can’t wait to share it and see how it is received!
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