1. Warm up, 9/17 1. Copy ONLY the applicable definition(s) of the word ‘vignette’: O vi·gnette (v n-y t ) n. 1. A decorative design placed at the beginning or end of a book or chapter of a book or along the border of a page. 2. An unbordered picture, often a portrait, that shades off into the surrounding color at the edges. 3. a. A short, usually descriptive literary sketch. b. A short scene or incident, as from a movie. tr.v. vi·gnet·ted, vi·gnet·ting, vi·gnettes 1. To soften the edges of (a picture) in vignette style. 2. To describe in a brief way. [French, from Old French, diminutive of vigne, vine (from the use of vine tendrils in decorative borders); see vine.] 2. After having read three vignettes, what would you say is the effect of this style of storytelling? How is it an appropriate method to use when sharing ones memoir?

2. Possible definitions for the term ‘Memoir’: “A memoir is how one remembers one’s own life, while an autobiography is history, requiring research, dates, facts double-checked” —from Palimpsest by Gore Vidal (Penguin, 1996). “Unlike autobiography, which moves in a dutiful line from birth to fame, memoir narrows the lens, focusing on a time in the writer’s life that was unusually vivid, such as childhood or adolescence, or that was framed by war or travel or public service or some other special circumstance” —p. 15 of Inventing the Truth: The Art and Craft of Memoir by William Zinsser (Mariner Books, 1998)

3. Learning Targets O To compare notes in Love and Spin. O To explore storytelling through the use of vignettes by reading examples of successful vignettes and identifying common traits.

4. Love and Spin - notes O For Love: O Why is this chapter titled as it is? Find at least 2-3 quotations from the chapter that help to explain why. O For Spin: For each of the following characters, indicate what you knew about the character BEFORE reading the chapter, and what you know about him now. O Mitchell Sanders O Kiowa O Jimmy Cross O Norman Bowker O Azar

5. Group work - Vignettes 1. Read the vignettes with your group. As you do, indicate what traits they all have in common (these traits should, ideally, differ from that of longer or more traditional storytelling methods). Try to come up with at least five traits. 2. Indicate which vignette you feel is most effective and why.

6. Traits of Successful Vignettes O Imagery/imaginative thought O A unique take on a subject/based on a specific event O Flashbacks/memories O To the point O Specific details O Real-life observations

7. Your vignette! O Pick a theme (parents, love, wounds, secrets, music, disappointment, childhood, basketball, lies, fear, brothers and sisters, family, school, time, etc.). Make it a good one: you’ll be writing a few of these on the same topic! O Within that theme, think of 3-4 topics that you could write about.

8. Homework O Read On the Rainy River. In addition to building your vocabulary list, take notes on the following: O Find two quotations that illustrate Tim O’Brien’s struggles and emotions. O In the last two lines of the chapter, the word “coward” is used. What does it mean in this context? Connect to O’Brien’s struggles.