Joshua Kirby #10 - The Riviera

He drove along the riviera in a Ferrari Daytona. His aviator sunglasses blocking the summer French sun ahead of him. None of this was his. The car was borrowed, the setting was a vacation. Even the glasses were from a friend, taken only to complete the image. He dreamed of not only of the jet set, but a time when that really meant something. Back when glamorous and hip were synonymous.

Kelly Dougher #2 - California Girl

She was the kind of girl who ripped off her Barbie dolls’ heads as a child, transforming them into zombies. She wanted to be a Japanese pop superstar and make millions of horror movies.  Standing on the sun-drenched balcony, she perched on the balls of her feet, arched her back with one hand on her hip, and surveyed Los Angeles from behind her pink plastic sunglasses. When asked why blondes have more fun, she laughed and then whispered confidentially that for her, it was because whenever she came up with a quick comeback, people were so surprised that they immediately fell in love.

Cancellation

Today's vignette has been cancelled due to an illness spreading around the Vignettology headquarters. Apologies.

Kiran Sookhai #1 - Wit's End

When the thunder cracked, he felt the desire beating inside him like a drum.  He wasn’t quite sure when it began or where it came from, but it was coursing through his body as strong as his own heartbeat.  It was this displaced yearning that led him out the front door into the raging storm.  It sent him to the empty field across the street where he dropped to his knees in the muddy ground and raised his arms as if in supplication.  As the rain beat down on him, the sky opened and a single bolt of bright light erupted and struck him square in the chest.  When he felt the electricity pulse through him, he finally felt new again.

Joshua Kirby #9 - Flying Dylan

He sat on the airplane, tired of the romantic comedy being shown on the back of the headrest in front of him. He scrolled through the artists of his MP3 player alphabetically, stopping quickly at Bob Dylan. He came across his favorite song, Girl From The North Country, and turned it down so the engines would drown out the guitar, leaving only Mr. Dylan's voice. Some find his voice a turn off, but the pure longing for a lost love strikes him every time. Boots Of Spanish Leather, though using many of the same elements just doesn't provide the same punch.

Kevin Haggerty - #3 Only This Once

He couldn’t remember where he was going or where he was for that matter.  All he could focus on was her.  But, the her he was thinking about wasn’t the sophisticated beauty in front of him.  The her, the girl that was on his mind was that same captivating woman that seemed to occupy his thoughts whenever an opportunity arose.  Looking out of the glass elevator at the plaza below, his consciousness faded back into the moment and his levity at accompanying his guest back to her hotel room had vanished.  The solemn mood that overtook him caused each new glance to be apprehensive.  Each sly grin was now subdued and bordering on polite.  The elevator arrived at their floor and the pair stepped out, but it wasn’t the same couple that had entered.  He had found himself in the unsettling position of feeling regret no matter what decision he made.  Awaking the next morning, he couldn’t stand his own reflection in the bathroom mirror.

Joshua Kirby #8 - Best Friends

Her parents told her that they had to take her best friend away. Those two had been inseparable for her entire life, so about 4 years give or take. She never let the fact that her best friend was a stuffed giraffe get in the way of their relationship. This though, she couldn't stand for. The two had to get to the jungle to release him into the wild. They made it as far as the front bushes, which would have to do. She told him to duck down, but his head kept sticking out from the shrub. "Stay here" she said and she ran inside, frightened tears in her eyes. When she got back with food and water, her best friend was gone.

Joshua Kirby #7 - Shoes

He's bought new shoes, but after they wear out, he keeps returning to the same old pair. Shoe after shoe breaks down and he ditches them at the first small hole. The old pair just feels like home. Ripped and torn beyond the point of any shoe he's thrown away, they're constantly are the butts of jokes. But he always goes back to them, dirt and all. Thousands, literally thousands, of miles over the many years, but he has still never broken a shoelace.

Lindsay Kemmlein #1 - Ceiling

It’s 12:25 AM, and even though she promised herself she’d be in bed by midnight, she has yet to give her homework any serious thought.  Instead, she sits on her bed glancing over her notebook.  There’s nothing written, except for the snowman she drew during class.  Deciding the snowman is B+ material, she lies flat on her back, and takes in the view: a white ceiling.  Rough and plain.  How can she get work done with these distractions!  She tells herself she'll get the work done... tomorrow.  Every night it's the same, but she doesn't feel guilty for it.  It’s hard to feel anything beyond apathy when faced with white, lackluster stucco.  

A Note To Prospective Vignettologists

Vignettology can be a daunting study. One might be afraid to vignettologize, so here are a few strategies to make your vignette all it can be:

1) Remember that brevity is the soul of wit. A great vignette values concision over all else. Consider your words carefully, because you don't get a lot of them. Vignettology celebrates l'amour de la langue.

2) Write what you know. Life experiences are always the easiest to write about. Much like Seinfeld was a show about nothing, vignettes are stories about nothing.

3) Like in everything else, be yourself. You may read Vignettology thinking "I could never write like that." No one's asking you to. Write in your style, write how you talk, write poetically, whatever you choose, make it your own.

4) Nut up. Don't be afraid to be embarrassed. If you feel even the faintest spark of inspiration, go for it. If everyone were afraid to take risks, nothing would ever get done.

Most vignettologists have no formal training in creative writing, so don't let that stop you either. You can do it, we know you can do it.

So you've followed those simple rules and you have a shiny new vignette looking for a home, what do you do? You e-mail it to us, simple. vignettology at gmail dot com. Please include your name or preferred alias, and if you plan on writing more than one, please number them. If the Vignettology team deems it worthy, we'll publish it. If we deem it unworthy, we'll give gentle advice on how to optimize your vignette

Now get to it!

Love,

The Vignettology Team

Kevin Haggerty #2 - Thursday Mornings

The crisp sea breeze cut through his t-shirt and the briny moisture tore away at his spirit.  That air that had for so long been a reminder of home now merely tasted of bitter disappointment.  It was obvious that the cheery recollection of a night spent walking on the shore was being used as a masochistic memory meant to mitigate the reality.  As things were, who could say what would come of the next moment? Or what may be carried along on the next shore bound gust?  The trouble was though, that that tomorrow remained the unattainable, a distance that could never be shortened.  So, disenchanted by the certainty of what he was already sure of, and the confusion of what he’d never know, he continued his trek through the tumult of time, making no headway. The sea was unsettlingly calm.

Joshua Kirby #6 - Snowy Path

They walked down the snowy path, mostly wordless. It had snowed the night before, so the loose gravel was slippery. They joked and pushed each other playfully, slipping on the ice. The snow caked up on the fronts of their shoes and crackled under their feet. They weren't going anywhere the path didn't take them, and when it came time to turn around and go home, they made a point of stepping in their original footprints.

Joshua Kirby #5 - Frost

The grass crunched with frost beneath his feet. The crisp air of winter had come early this year and the frost settled in mid November. He got the paper out of the box knowing the ice was here to stay, making itself comfortable until March, at the earliest. The paper's top headline corroborated, and below the fold were stories of black ice related traffic accidents. He turned around and took a different route back inside as to maximize the crunch beneath his feet. He cursed the sky for not snowing, but went inside and made hot cocoa anyway.

Kevin Haggerty - #1 Worth It?

Collapsed beneath the steel frame-work, looking up through the tower that will one day be, he is struck by the similarity of this moment.  So many years ago he had witnessed this experience as a child staring up through the jungle gym, straining to keep his eyes open as the sun shone day from overhead.  He had giggled then, ignoring the pain reverberating through his skull as the swelling began.  All he could feel now was the chill in his spine as the warmth seeped through his hair.  He knew he shouldn’t have tried to climb it, but he just wanted to feel that separation from it all again, crossing between the bounds of the city and the sky.  He giggled one last time.