The word "vignette" is taken from the French "vigne" which means "little vine" in English and "small vine" in Indonesian. A vignette can be called a “little vine” for a story, like a photo described in words. A good vignette is one that is concise, straightforward, and full of emotion.
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Part 1 of 3: Preparing to Write a Vignette
Step 1. Understand the purpose of vignette writing
Vignette must express a particular moment, atmosphere, aspect, setting, character, or object. Most vignettes should be concise but descriptive.
- In terms of length, vignettes are usually written in 800 to 1,000 words. But it can also be written as long as a few lines, or under 500 words.
- Vignettes usually contain 1 to 2 short scenes, moments, impressions of a person, idea, theme, setting, or object.
- You can use first, second, and third person points of view in vignette. However, vignettes are usually written using the first person point of view, rather than any other point of view. Remember that you have a limit for writing vignettes. So don't waste your readers' time confusing them with the sheer number of points of view you use.
- Vignettes can also be used by doctors to report a patient's condition or write a procedure. In this article, we will focus on vignette in literature, not medicine.
Step 2. Don't stick to a structure or writing style when creating a vignette
Vignette is free writing. This means that you don't have to write vignettes in a particular structure or plot. So you can have a clear beginning, middle, and ending, or you can omit the beginning and end.
- Vignette also does not require a major conflict or resolution of a conflict. This freedom makes some vignette writings end up hanging or unfinished. However, unlike most story writing formats, such as novels or short stories, vignettes do not have to provide a conclusion at the end of the story.
- When you write vignettes, you are not limited by any particular genre or style of writing. So you can combine horror and romance elements, or you can use poetry and prose in one vignette.
- Feel free to use simple language, or use a rich and detailed vocabulary.
Step 3. Remember the main rules of vignette writing:
create an atmosphere, not a story. Because the length of the vignette is limited, it is important to show something, rather than tell it to the reader. So don't put a background story or exposition in a vignette. Focus on creating a portrait of a character's life or a portrait of a particular setting.
- Vignette can also be written in blog or Twitter writing format.
- Usually, concise vignettes are more difficult to write, because you have to create the mood in just a few words and must be able to provoke a reaction from your readers.
Step 4. Read the vignette examples
There are some great examples of vignettes, of varying lengths. As an example:
- "Vine Leaves Journal" publishes vignettes that are both short and long. One of the first issues of the journal was a two-line vignette, by the poet Patricia Ranzoni, entitled “Flashback”. The caption reads as follows: “'tenderness when calling her/like opening my music box cover'.
- Charles Dickens wrote a longer vigenette or "sketch" in his novel Sketches by Boz to describe the city of London and its people.
- Sandra Cisneros created a vignette collection entitled “The House on Mango Street”, which is narrated by a Latino girl living in Chicago.
Step 5. Analyze vignette samples
Whether written in two lines or two paragraphs, a vignette should convey a certain emotion or mood to the reader. Notice how the examples use tone, language, and atmosphere to explore the emotions of their readers.
- For example, the two-line vignette by Patricia Ranzoni is a great vignette because it's written in a simple yet complex way. The vignette is simple because it describes the feeling you feel when you call someone you like. But the vignette is complex because it connects the feeling of calling someone with the feeling of opening the lid of the music box. So, the vignette combines two images to create an emotion. The vignette also uses the word “tenderness” described when calling. The word is associated with the softness that comes out of the music box, or the soft music that the music box plays. With only 2 lines, this vignette can effectively create an atmosphere for the readers to feel.
- In Cisneros' work entitled "The House on Mango Street", there is a vignette entitled "Boys & Girls". This vignette is written in 4 paragraphs, or about 1,000 words. This vignette summarizes the narrator's emotions towards the boys and girls in the area around his home, and also describes his relationship with his older sister, Nenny.
- The narrator uses simple and straightforward vocabulary to describe the different worlds a boy and girl have around his house. Cisneros ends his vignette with an image that sums up the narrator's feelings.
- The depiction of a “balloon tied to an anchor” adds color and texture to this vignette. The narrator's feelings of being suppressed by his older sister really show in this final picture. So, readers will feel what the narrator feels.
One day I will have my best friend. A friend I can share my secrets with. A friend who understands all my jokes without me having to explain. Until then, I'm a red balloon, a balloon tied to an anchor.
Part 2 of 3: Thinking Up Ideas for Writing a Vignette
Step 1. Create a frame of mind
Creating a frame of mind is often referred to as a grouping technique of ideas. You should create word groups around a theme or main idea.
- Take a piece of paper. Write the main topic or subject in the middle of the paper. For example, “Rainy Season”.
- Move from the middle of the paper, and write down any other words that come to mind related to the rainy season.
- For example, for “rainy season”, you could write “flowers”, “rain”, and “dew”. Don't think about the wording when you start writing. Let the words flow by themselves around the main topic.
- Once you have written enough words around the main topic, start grouping them together. Draw a circle on the related words and draw a line between the circled words to connect them. Do the same for the other words. Some terms won't be circled, but they can still be used.
- Focus on the relationship between the words and the main topic. If you've grouped a few words related to “rain”, for example, these words could be an idea for a vignette. Or, if there are many word groups that focus on “flowers”, they might be used to describe “rainy season.”
- Continue the following sentence: “I was very surprised when…” or “I realized that…”. For example, you might look back at some groups of words and think, “I was so surprised when I realized that I always thought of my mother when I imagined the rainy season”, or “I realized that I wanted to write about the morning dew in the rainy season which can symbolize a good start. new".
Step 2. Use freewriting techniques
Freewriting gives you the opportunity to let your thoughts flow into writing. Write whatever you think and don't judge your own writing.
- Take a piece of paper, or open a new document on your computer. Write down the main topic on paper. Then, set a time limit of about 10 minutes and start freewriting.
- A simple rule of freewriting is don't lift the pen off the paper, or your finger off the keyboard. This means that you may not reread written sentences or edit word spelling, grammar, or punctuation. If you feel like you're running out of ideas to write about, write about your frustration at not being able to write anything else.
- Stop writing when the time is up. Reread your writing. While some of the sentences are confusing or convoluted, there will also be sentences that you like or that can be used as ideas for writing a vignette.
- Highlight or underline sentences or phrases that could be used in your vignette.
Step 3. Ask the six main questions
Take a piece of paper or create a new document on your computer. Write the main topic of your vignette at the top of the paper or document. Then, write down six subtitles: “Who?”, “What?”, “When?”, “Where?”, “Why?”, and “How?”
- Respond to each question with a phrase or sentence. For example, if your main topic is “rainy season”, you might answer “Who?” by writing "me and my mother in the park". You can answer "When?" by writing “when it rained heavily in December and I was 6 years old.” You can answer “Where?” by writing, "Bandung". You can answer "Why?" by writing “because it was the happiest moment in my life”. And, you can answer "How?" by writing "my mother took me in the rain in the garden".
- Review your responses. Do you need an answer longer than 2 sentences to answer a particular question? Are there questions you can't answer? If you find that you need longer sentences for the “where” and “when” questions, this might be the best idea for your vignette.
Part 3 of 3: Writing a Vignette
Step 1. Determine your vignette writing style
Maybe you want to create a scene or describe an object in a freehand style. Or maybe you want to use the format of writing a letter or blog post for your vignette.
For example, a vignette about “rainy season” might describe a scene in the garden with your mother among the flowers and trees. Or it could be in the form of a letter to your mother about the rainy season complete with flowers and trees
Step 2. Add sensory details
Focus on the five senses, namely: taste, smell, sight, touch, and hearing. Can you reinforce the details in your vignette with a description of the scent of flowers or the softness of petals in the garden?
- You can also add figures of speech or figures of speech to strengthen your vignette, such as similes, metaphors, prototypes, and personifications. However, you can only use these figures of speech when you feel that similes or metaphors can enrich your vignette.
- For example, the use of balloons tied to anchors in Cisneros' work “Boys & Girls” is an effective way of using figurative language. The use of this figure of speech is very good because this vignette uses a simple vocabulary, so that the final picture of this vignette will be remembered by the readers.
Step 3. Summarize your vignette
A good vignette should have a “hurried” feel. This means you'll have to cut out details like what the character eats at breakfast or the color of the sky in the garden, unless those details are an important part of your vignette. Only include scenes and moments that have a “hurried” feel, and remove any details that would hinder the flow of the vignette.
- Reread the first two lines of your vignette. Did the vignette start at the right moment? Is there a sense of "hurry" in the first two lines?
- Make sure your character meets other characters at the beginning of the vignette. Try editing your vignette so you can make a scene as concise as possible.
