Vignettes: Planned or Spontaneously Created?

My vignettes are put in to complement the epics I write, explaining matters of the story in more detail, rather than just random stuff.

 

Smuggler Does anyone else do that? Write stuff in their heads?

All the time but usually when I'm driving so that by the time I get home and can write it down, it's gone!

 

They just hit me like this It's insane. But sometimes(very very rarely) I'll think, Hey! That would make a good viggie. Then I listen to some music, brainstorm, then write it. One-poster actually take me a few days to write when I'm busy. Which is not often. Just like the planning thing. Doesn't work for me. It turns out horribly when I plan. ~Gabby

 

The oddest things usually spark mine. Like making blue jello.

 

The oddest things usually spark mine. Like making blue jello.

LOL! Mine too. Haven't ventured into the jello territory yet. Must try that.

 

I'll be sitting around, bored, and I'll hear a song or read something or think of something that spawns a plot bunny. The plot bunny grows inside my head for, say, ten minutes or so, and then gets typed up, titled, and posted within the next day! The longest a one-shot has ever taken me was the prologue of towards darkness (originally stand alone) and the shortest was Promise Me (let's forget that ever happened, will we? It was when I was just coming into the light as a writer.)

By far, my favorite one shot was Momento Mori!

 

They smack me across the face like a wet fish. Anyone else having visions of Veggie Tales?

Anyway, my vignettes normally come during class, in which case I write about a page, and then get yelled at for writing when I'm not supposed to me. Or for not playing volleyball in Spanish class. (Don't ask.) Then I don't really have time to finish them when I'm at home, because I'm working on homework or at swim practice. They joys of high school.

However, when I do have time, they normally come within half a day.

Except "Helpless," which took three weeks--partially because it caused me to revisit some very unpleasant memories, and partially because I went on vacation halfway through.

 

The bunnies simply pop into my head and then get typed up as soon as possible

 

I wouldn't say that suddenly writing a viggie is spontaneous. They're inspired. Sometimes planning goes into them, but for me, if I know what the over all feel, why plan? Just let the fingers do their magic. and the typing to.

~aeryn

 

Anyway, my vignettes normally come during class, in which case I write about a page, and then get yelled at for writing when I'm not supposed to me. Or for not playing volleyball in Spanish class. (Don't ask.) Then I don't really have time to finish them when I'm at home, because I'm working on homework or at swim practice. They joys of high school.

Ahh.. yes. The overworked, overstressed, overtired joys of highschool! (NOT!) It pretty much sucks, especially with exams coming up... AH!

 

Anyway, my vignettes normally come during class, in which case I write about a page, and then get yelled at for writing when I'm not supposed to me. Or for not playing volleyball in Spanish class. (Don't ask.) Then I don't really have time to finish them when I'm at home, because I'm working on homework or at swim practice. They joys of high school.

Oh, I can relate. Lots of my stuff gets written during French. Ick ick ick.

 

I first started dabbling in fanfiction back when I was in college -- during Ancient World Lit classes. I had one of those professors who liked to drone in monotone. The odyssey is boring enough when it's read by someone with a good speaking voice It's exceptionally hard to stay awake when the person drones on and on and on.. so I do sympathize with you high schoolers

 

*grimaces* I hate it when teachers do that.

 

Every vignette I've ever written has been completely spontaneous.

In my case, that's mostly because if it takes any longer than an hour or so to write it, it becomes far too long to be considered a vignette. Once I have the inspiration for a vignette, it goes right into words, usually within half an hour or so. And the inspirations come from the oddest places - I got one from a friend's typo.

My favorite weirdness is when I wake up with a bunny, write it down in the dark, and when I wake up, it's either unreadable, or makes no sense whatsoever.

 

My favorite weirdness is when I wake up with a bunny, write it down in the dark, and when I wake up, it's either unreadable, or makes no sense whatsoever.

I've done that!

 

My favorite weirdness is when I wake up with a bunny, write it down in the dark, and when I wake up, it's either unreadable, or makes no sense whatsoever. I do that too! My mom's beginning to get annoyed with my frantic screaming of "I need a pen!" while she's downstairs grading lab reports at 1:30 am.

Oddly enough, though, my favorite bunny--which is still in the planning stages--is one that I came up with like that.

 

Ha ha ha... That's funny. It's funny because I can relate, oddly enough.

EDIT: Suzi, long time no see! How are ya?

But yeah, viggies are rather annoying at times. My latest series of viggies came to me while I was sitting at the computer, (luckily.) I was happy because I actually managed not to to turn into a monster looking for pen and paper.

 

The only thing I've really came up with while asleep, was a haiku for Farscape. I ended up writing it in the dark on the front page of a book I had been reading.

 

They smack me across the face like a wet fish.

Most of my stories are spontaneous as is my poetry. My poems usually start with a line or phrase and then go from there.

 

At the most, it takes me about a day to concieve and write a vig.

JS

 

Actually, some of my one-shots, rather than being spontaneously created, spontaneously combust. They'll be going great and then I'll have a really forced ending.

 

I totally understand what you're talking about. I think my major problem when I write vignettes--or really, anything--is that I don't want to stop it. I have a very active muse, and it keeps rambling on and on with no apparent winding down, and then when the ending comes, it's ridiculously abrupt. In Helpless, for example, Han's right in the middle of a full-blown reminiscence when I realize that I don't want the fic to be a complete recap of his entire life, and so I just randomly have the machine pull him out of his thoughts. It could have happened anywhere in the fic, but it just came when my muse ran out.

 

They'll be going great and then I'll have a really forced ending.

HA! I can relate 100%. It has happened many a times. *sigh* It happens more with my fics though. *sigh again* My Muse just leaves me hanging there with a half finished fic. I hate HIM!

 

I've written stuff really quickly (less than ten minutes) and then taken weeks to complete stuff. I've had them turn out good and bad both ways, LOL!