Sylvia

“In fact, if one has not the imagination to create characters, to knit plots, it does no good to jot down fragments of life and conversation, for alone they are disjointed and meaningless. It is only when these bits are woven into an artistic whole, with a frame of reference, that they become meaning-ful and worthy of more than a cursory glance, therefore, think and work, think and work.”

-- Sylvia Plath, the journals

Jottings and fragments are not as satisfying as a well-orchestrated novel, but a lot of little notes can perhaps come to form a more comprehensive picture in a kind of gestalt effect.