A story told in vignettes

It's all in the writing. Nobody can say just from what you describe whether or not it'll work.

I think it sounds like "a novel in stories," which is fine if it's working. But then regular old novels probably sell better in general. So if there's no particular reason for doing the novel in vignettes, why not just stick with the usual form?

But again, if it works, it works. Or if you just enjoy playing around with the form, imo that's good enough reason. I'm considering this too, just because I enjoy, and think I'm better at, shorts over longs. I thought the link below was interesting- for the comments as much as the essay.

http://therumpus.net/2011/05/the-mysterious-case-of-novel-in-stories/

Seen it done. It can work. The only thing I'd be concerned about is the "omniscient narrator who is also somewhat involved." You'll have to work to make that believable, or you are arsed.

I like books with this structure.

The best one I've read is Olive Kitteridge, by Elizabeth Strout. Olive plays a similar role to the one you're describing. And it won a Pulitzer, so.

Yeah, Olive Kitteridge came to my mind, too. Pick up a copy and see if your book works in a similar way, and even if it doesn't, you should keep writing. There's no one rule for the way a book, or story should develop.

World War Z by Max Brooks is another book written in that style that might be worth looking at. In that case, the narrator is not omniscient but is a journalists relaying the substance of interviews with various people as vignettes that form the overall story.

I think it's the effectiveness of how the author creates that overall story and makes it emotionally compelling through small slices of characters' lives that are then never seen again that makes it worth studying.

I thought this thread was about a story told in vinaigrettes.

/slinks off, ashamed

Buffysquirrel said:

It's all in the writing.

Click to expand...

What Buffy said. =)

Another word sometimes applied to this kind of structure is "episodic". Epistolary novels also tend to work this way. I was reminded of Flowers for Algernon, by Daniel Keyes.

No reason not to do it. Write it and see how it works out.

caw