SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL

How to Write a Vignette Usually, shorter vignettes are more difficult to write, as you
need to create an atmosphere in very few words and evoke a
A vignette is a short piece of literature used to add reaction from your reader.
depth or understanding to a story. The word “vignette”
originates from the French word “vigne”, which means “little C. Read examples of vignettes. There are several great
vine”. A vignette can be a “little vine” of a story, like a snapshot vignette examples, varying from very short to long.
with words. A good vignette is short, to the point, and packed
with emotions. For example:
The publication Vine Leaves Journal publishes vignettes, both
PREPARING TO WRITE THE VIGNETTE short and long. One of the submissions from their first issue is
A. Understand the purpose of a vignette. A vignette should a two-line vignette by the poet Patricia Ranzoni, called
express a certain moment, mood, aspect, setting, character, or "Flashback": " the softness from dialing the phone/is like lifting
object. Most of all, it should be short, but descriptive. In terms the lid to my music box."
of length, a vignette is typically 800-1000 words. But it can be Charles Dickens uses longer vignettes or "sketches" in his
as short as a few lines or under 500 words. novel "Sketches by Boz" to explore London scenes and
people.[2]
A vignette will usually have 1-2 short scenes, moments, or The writer Sandra Cisneros has a collection of vignettes called
impressions about a character, an idea, a theme, a setting, or "The House on Mango Street", narrated by a young Latina girl
an object. living in Chicago.[3]

You can use the first, second, or third point of view in a D. Analyze the examples. Whether the vignette is two lines
vignette. But most vignettes are told in just one point of view, long or two paragraphs long, it should communicate a certain
instead of alternating points of view. Remember you only have emotion or mood to the reader. Look closely at how the
a short amount of space on the page for the vignette. So don’t example vignettes use tone, language, and mood to evoke
waste valuable time confusing your reader with many points emotions in the reader.
of view.
For example, the two-line vignette by the poet Patricia Ranzoni
The vignette form can also be used by physicians to create a is a successful piece because it is both simple and complex.
report on the status of a patient or a procedure. In this article, Simple in that it describes the feeling you might get as you dial
we will be focusing on a literary vignette, not a clinical the number of someone you are excited to talk to. But
vignette.[1] complex in that the vignette ties the excitement of dialing a
number to the excitement of lifting a music box. So the
Don’t feel restricted to one structure or style in a vignette. A vignette combines two images to create one emotion. It also
vignette is an open form. This means you do not need to write uses "softness" to describe dialing the phone, which also
within a certain structure or a specific plot. So, you can have a connects to the softness of the lining of a music box, or the soft
clear beginning, middle, and end, or you can skip beginnings music that plays from a music box. With just two lines, the
and endings altogether. vignette effectively creates a certain mood for the reader.

A vignette also does not require a main conflict or a resolution In Cisneros’ "The House on Mango Street", there is a vignette
of a conflict. This freedom gives some vignettes an unfinished called "Boys & Girls". It is a longer vignette, four paragraphs
or unresolved tone. But unlike other traditional storytelling long, or around 1,000 words. But it sums up the young
forms like the novel or the short story, a vignette does not have narrator’s emotion towards the boys and girls in her
to tie up all the loose ends. neighborhood, as well as her relationship with her sister,
In a vignette, you are not limited by a certain genre or style. So Nenny.[4]
you can combine elements of horror and romance, or you can
use poetry and prose in the same vignette. The narrator uses simple, direct language to describe the
separate world of boys and girls in her neighborhood.
Feel free to use simple and minimal language, or lush, Cisneros finishes the vignette with an image that sums up the
detailed prose. narrator’s feelings.

B. Remember the one rule of the vignette: create an Someday I will have a best friend all my own. One I can tell my
atmosphere, not a story. Because there is limited space in a secrets to. One who will understand my jokes without my
vignette, it's important to show, rather than tell the reader. So having to explain them. Until then I am a red balloon, a balloon
avoid inserting backstory or exposition into a vignette. Focus tied to an anchor.
instead on creating a snapshot in the life of a character or a
certain setting. The image of a "balloon tied to an anchor" adds color and
texture to the vignette. The narrator’s feeling of being
A vignette can also come in the form of a blog entry or even a weighed down by her sister is perfectly summed up by the last
Twitter post. image. So the reader is left with the feeling of being held down
or tethered to someone, just like the narrator.
SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL

the top of the document. Then, write down six headings: Who?
BRAINSTORMING IDEAS FOR A VIGNETTE What? When? Where? Why? and How?[7]
A. Create an association diagram. An association diagram is
also known as a clustering technique. You will create a cluster Respond to each question with a phrase or sentence. For
or group of words around a theme or idea.[5] example, if your topic is "Spring", you may answer Who? with
"my mother and I in the garden". You may answer When? with
Take out a sheet of paper. Write your main topic or subject in "A hot summer day in July when I was six years old." You may
the middle of the paper. For example, "Spring". answer Where? with "Miami, Florida." You may answer Why?
Moving out from the center, write down other words that pop with "Because it was one of the happiest moments of my life."
into your mind that relate to "Spring". And you may answer How? with "I was alone with my mother
For example, for "Spring", you might write "flowers", "rain", in the garden, without my sisters."
"Spring break", "new life". Don’t worry about organizing the
words as you write. Simply let the words flow around the main Look over your responses. Do you have more than one or two
topic. phrases for a certain question? Is there one question you had
no answer for? If your answers reveal you know more about
Once you feel you have written enough words around the "where" and "why", maybe this is where the strongest ideas for
main topic, start to cluster the words. Draw a circle around the vignette are.
words that relate to each other and draw a line between the
circled words to connect them. Continue doing this with the WRITING THE VIGNETTE
other words. Some of the terms may end up uncircled, but A. Decide on the style of the vignette. Maybe you want to
these lone words can still be useful. do a freestyle vignette where you create a scene or describe
an object. Or perhaps you’d like to use the format of a letter or
Focus on how the words relate to the main topic. If you have a blog post for the vignette.
clustered together several words that relate to "new life", for
example, maybe this may be a good approach for the For example, a vignette about "Spring" could describe a scene
vignette. Or if there are a lot of clustered words that focus on in the garden with your mother, among the flowers and trees.
"flowers", this may be another way to approach "Spring." Or it could be in the form of a letter to your mother about that
day in Spring, among the flowers and trees.
Answer questions like: "I was surprised by…" or "I
discovered…" For example, you may look over the clustered B. Add sensory details. Focus on the five senses: touch, taste,
words and note "I was surprised by how often I mention my smell, sight, and sound. Could a certain detail in the vignette
mother in relation to Spring." Or, "I discovered I may want to be stronger with a description of the smell of a flower or the
write about how Spring means new life." softness of the petals of a flower?

B. Do a free-write. A free-write is a chance for you to let your You can also add figurative language to strengthen the
thoughts flow on a piece of paper. Write whatever comes into vignette, such as similes, metaphors, alliteration, and
your mind and don’t judge what you are writing. personification. But use these sparingly and only when you
feel like a simile or metaphor will highlight the rest of the
Take out a piece of paper, or open a new document on your vignette.
computer. Write the main topic at the top of the paper. Then,
set a time limit of 10 minutes and start the free-write.[6] For example, the use of the red balloon attached to an anchor
in Cisneros’ "Boys & Girls" is an effective use of figurative
A good rule of thumb for the free-write is to not lift your pen language. But it works well because the rest of the vignette
from the paper, or your fingers from the keyboard. This means uses simple language, so the image at the end of the vignette
not re-reading the sentences you just wrote or going back lingers with the reader.
over a line for spelling, grammar, or punctuation. If you feel
you have run out of things to write down, write about your C. Condense the vignette. A good vignette should have a
frustrations about not having anything else to say about the sense of urgency. This means cutting out details like what the
main topic. character ate for breakfast or the color of the sky in the garden
unless they are essential to the vignette. Only include scenes
Stop writing once the timer is up. Read over the text. Though and moments that add urgency, and remove any details that
there may be some confusing or convoluted thoughts, there slow down the pace of the vignette.
will also be sentences you may like or an insight that may be
useful. Look over the first two lines of the vignette. Does the vignette
begin at the right moment? Is there a sense of urgency in the
Highlight or underline sentences or phrases you think may first two lines?
work in the vignette.
Make sure your characters collide with each other very early in
C. Ask the six big questions. Take out a sheet of paper or the vignette. See if you can edit the vignette so you set a scene
open a new document. Write the main topic of the vignette at in the least words possible.