writing a vignette assignment

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How to Write a Vignette

Last Updated: November 5, 2024 Fact Checked

This article was reviewed by Gerald Posner . Gerald Posner is an Author & Journalist based in Miami, Florida. With over 35 years of experience, he specializes in investigative journalism, nonfiction books, and editorials. He holds a law degree from UC College of the Law, San Francisco, and a BA in Political Science from the University of California-Berkeley. He’s the author of thirteen books, including several New York Times bestsellers, the winner of the Florida Book Award for General Nonfiction, and has been a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in History. He was also shortlisted for the Best Business Book of 2020 by the Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing. There are 7 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 576,150 times.

A vignette is a short piece of literature used to add depth or understanding to a story. The word “vignette” originates from the French word “vigne”, which means “little vine”. A vignette can be a “little vine” of a story, like a snapshot with words. A good vignette is short, to the point, and packed with emotions.

Preparing to Write the Vignette

• In terms of length, a vignette is typically 800-1000 words. But it can be as short as a few lines or under 500 words.
• A vignette will usually have 1-2 short scenes, moments, or impressions about a character, an idea, a theme, a setting, or an object.
• You can use the first second, or third point of view in a vignette. But most vignettes are told in just one point of view, instead of alternating points of view. Remember you only have a short amount of space on the page for the vignette. So don’t waste valuable time confusing your reader with many points of view.
• The vignette form can also be used by physicians to create a report on the status of a patient or a procedure. In this article, we will be focusing on a literary vignette, not a clinical vignette. [2] X Research source

• A vignette also does not require a main conflict or a resolution of a conflict. This freedom gives some vignettes an unfinished or unresolved tone. But unlike other traditional storytelling forms like the novel or the short story, a vignette does not have to tie up all the loose ends.
• In a vignette, you are not limited by a certain genre or style. So you can combine elements of horror and romance, or you can use poetry and prose in the same vignette.
• Feel free to use simple and minimal language, or lush, detailed prose.

• A vignette can also come in the form of a blog entry or even a Twitter post.
• Usually, shorter vignettes are more difficult to write, as you need to create an atmosphere in very few words and evoke a reaction from your reader.

• The publication Vine Leaves Journal publishes vignettes, both short and long. One of the submissions from their first issue is a two-line vignette by the poet Patricia Ranzoni, called “Flashback”: “ the softness from dialing the phone/is like lifting the lid to my music box. ”
• Charles Dickens uses longer vignettes or “sketches” in his novel “Sketches by Boz” to explore London scenes and people. [3] X Research source
• The writer Sandra Cisneros has a collection of vignettes called “The House on Mango Street”, narrated by a young Latina girl living in Chicago.

• For example, the two-line vignette by the poet Patricia Ranzoni is a successful piece because it is both simple and complex. Simple in that it describes the feeling you might get as you dial the number of someone you are excited to talk to. But complex in that the vignette ties the excitement of dialing a number to the excitement of lifting a music box. So the vignette combines two images to create one emotion. It also uses “softness” to describe dialing the phone, which also connects to the softness of the lining of a music box, or the soft music that plays from a music box. With just two lines, the vignette effectively creates a certain mood for the reader.
• In Cisneros’ “The House on Mango Street”, there is a vignette called “Boys & Girls”. It is a longer vignette, four paragraphs long, or around 1,000 words. But it sums up the young narrator’s emotion towards the boys and girls in her neighborhood, as well as her relationship with her sister, Nenny.

Someday I will have a best friend all my own. One I can tell my secrets to. One who will understand my jokes without my having to explain them. Until then I am a red balloon, a balloon tied to an anchor.

• The image of a “balloon tied to an anchor” adds color and texture to the vignette. The narrator’s feeling of being weighed down by her sister is perfectly summed up by the last image. So the reader is left with the feeling of being held down or tethered to someone, just like the narrator.

Brainstorming Ideas for the Vignette

• Take out a sheet of paper. Write your main topic or subject in the middle of the paper. For example, “Spring”.
• Moving out from the center, write down other words that pop into your mind that relate to “Spring”.
• For example, for “Spring”, you might write “flowers”, “rain”, “Spring break”, “new life”. Don’t worry about organizing the words as you write. Simply let the words flow around the main topic.
• Once you feel you have written enough words around the main topic, start to cluster the words. Draw a circle around words that relate to each other and draw a line between the circled words to connect them. Continue doing this with the other words. Some of the terms may end up uncircled, but these lone words can still be useful.
• Focus on how the words relate to the main topic. If you have clustered together several words that relate to “new life”, for example, maybe this may be a good approach for the vignette. Or if there are a lot of clustered words that focus on “flowers", this may be another way to approach “Spring.”
• Answer questions like: “I was surprised by…” or “I discovered…” For example, you may look over the clustered words and note “I was surprised by how often I mention my mother in relation to Spring.” Or, “I discovered I may want to write about how Spring means new life.”

• Take out a piece of paper, or open a new document on your 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] X Trustworthy Source University of North Carolina Writing Center UNC's on-campus and online instructional service that provides assistance to students, faculty, and others during the writing process Go to source
• A good rule of thumb for the free-write is to not lift your pen from the paper, or your fingers from the keyboard. This means not re-reading the sentences you just wrote or going back over a line for spelling, grammar, or punctuation. If you feel you have run out of things to write down, write about your frustrations about not having anything else to say about the main topic.
• Stop writing once the timer is up. Read over the text. Though there may be some confusing or convoluted thoughts, there will also be sentences you may like or an insight that may be useful.
• Highlight or underline sentences or phrases you think may work in the vignette.

• Respond to each question with a phrase or sentence. For example, if your topic is “Spring”, you may answer Who? with “my mother and I in the garden”. You may answer When? with “A hot summer day in July when I was six years old.” You may answer Where? with “Miami, Florida.” You may answer Why? with “Because it was one of the happiest moments of my life.” And you may answer How? with “I was alone with my mother in the garden, without my sisters.”
• Look over your responses. Do you have more than one or two phrases for a certain question? Is there one question you had no answer for? If your answers reveal you know more about “where” and “why”, maybe this is where the strongest ideas for the vignette are.

Writing the Vignette

• For example, a vignette about “Spring” could 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 that day in Spring, among the flowers and trees.

• You can also add figurative language to strengthen the vignette, such as similes, metaphors, alliteration, and personification. But use these sparingly and only when you feel like a simile or metaphor will highlight the rest of the vignette. [8] X Research source
• For example, the use of the red balloon attached to an anchor in Cisneros’ “Boys & Girls” is an effective use of figurative language. But it works well because the rest of the vignette uses simple language, so the image at the end of the vignette lingers with the reader.

• 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 first two lines?
• Make sure your characters collide with each other very early in the vignette. See if you can edit the vignette so you set a scene in the least words possible.

Vignette Help

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• ↑ https://liberalarts.oregonstate.edu/wlf/what-vignette-oregon-state-guide-literary-terms
• ↑ https://www.acponline.org/membership/residents/competitions-awards/acp-national-abstract-competitions/guide-to-preparing-for-the-abstract-competition/writing-a-clinical-vignette-case-report-abstract
• ↑ https://www.gutenberg.org/files/882/882-h/882-h.htm
• ↑ https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/brainstorming/
• ↑ https://dus.psu.edu/pre-law/freewriting-rules
• ↑ https://human.libretexts.org/Courses/City_College_of_San_Francisco/Writing_and_Critical_Thinking_Through_Literature_(Ringo_and_Kashyap)/02%3A_About_Creative_Nonfiction/2.02%3A_Elements_of_Creative_Nonfiction
• ↑ https://www.writerswrite.co.za/how-to-write-a-vignette/

About This Article

A vignette is a short piece of writing usually no more than 800 to 1000 words long. It focuses on a specific theme, such as spring or a garden, and can take different forms, including a letter or short story. Your vignette can concentrate on anything you like, whether it's an object, person, or a mood, like happiness or mourning. Vignettes are usually very descriptive, so you should try to use all of your senses when talking about something when you're writing one. Avoid including too much context or the back story about a character, since your vignette should create an atmosphere in the present moment it's focused on. Your vignette should also feel urgent when it's read through, so leave out unnecessary details or information that doesn't contribute to its main theme. For tips on how to plan out a structure for your vignette, keep reading! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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What Is A Vignette & How Do I Write One?

If you’ve ever wondered what a vignette is, read this post. We ask ‘What is a vignette?’ and show you how to write a vignette.

What Is A Vignette ?

A vignette (pronunciation: vin-YET) is a short scene in literature that is used to describe a moment in time. It is descriptive and creates an atmosphere around a character, an incident, an emotion, or a place.

Dictionary.com defines it as a ‘a small, graceful literary sketch.’

It is also known as a slice of life that gives the reader added information that is not integral to the plot of the story.

Vignette means ‘little vine’ and it is named after the decorative vine leaves that adorned nineteenth-century books. Like the vines that adorn the books, a vignette in literature adorns the story by enhancing a part of it.

A vignette can be described as a pause in the story . Authors usually use vignettes when they want to highlight a defining, emotional moment in a character’s life.

Is A Vignette A Flashback?

No. A flashback is generally seen as essential to a plot. A vignette is not. A vignette can look into the past, but it is not a flashback in the traditional sense.

How Long Is A Vignette ?

According to Masterclass , vignettes are short scenes within a larger story. They are (usually far) fewer than 1 000 words long.

Is A Vignette A Short Story?

No. A vignette does not follow a narrative with a beginning, middle, and end. It is more of a description or an observation. It is like looking through a magnifying glass for a moment. A short story features a viewpoint character who goes through some sort of conflict.

How To Write A Vignette

Think of it as a moment out of time.

• Use it when you want to give the reader a glimpse into a moment in a character’s life.
• Use it if you want to show something that is important, but not necessary to the plot.
• Use it when you want to create an atmosphere around a place or a character.
• Be descriptive .
• Use the senses .
• Use symbols.
• Leave the reader with a distinct visual impression.

Examples Of Vignettes:

A series of vignettes can be collected into one book:.

The House on Mango Street  by Sandra Cisneros is made up of vignettes that are ‘not quite poems and not quite full stories’. The character, ‘Esperanza narrates these vignettes in first-person present tense, focusing on her day-to-day activities but sometimes narrating sections that are a series of observations.’ ( via )

Naked Lunch  by William S. Burroughs is ‘structured as a series of loosely connected vignettes. Burroughs stated that the chapters are intended to be read in any order. The reader follows the narration of junkie William Lee, who takes on various aliases, from the U.S. to Mexico, eventually to Tangier and the dreamlike Interzone.’ ( via )

Vignettes can be found within a book or a short story:

In In Our Time  by Ernest Hemingway , the author uses a vignette to describe the death of a bullfighter, Maera. Hemingway writes: ‘Maera lay still, his head on his arms, his face in the sand. He felt warm and sticky from the bleeding. Each time he felt the horn coming. Sometimes the bull only bumped him with his head. Once the horn went all the way through him and he felt it go into the sand … Maera felt everything getting larger and larger and then smaller and smaller. Then it got larger and larger and larger and then smaller and smaller. Then everything commenced to run faster and faster as when they speed up a cinematograph film. Then he was dead.’ ( via )

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5 thoughts on “What Is A Vignette & How Do I Write One?”

I’m curious as to whether a vignette might be a very short story? Or has it to be a part of a larger story and just an aside; a glimpse?

Dear Martin It could be a very short story, but generally it does not follow a narrative with a beginning, middle, and end. It is more of a description or an observation. It is like looking through a magnifying glass for a moment. It could work, but you will probably find the vignette morphing into more of a story as you go along.

We have added your question to the post (and answered it). Thank you so much for asking it.

Is vignette found mostly in any certain genre? Is it realism of some kind? Realism also focuses on describing minute details of a seemingly insignificant event.

Dear Rabia It is not restricted to any particular genre. We don’t think it has anything to do with realism. It is a moment in time that is described using symbols, senses, and imagery. It is a literary device.

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How I Use Vignettes to Jumpstart Students’ Narrative Writing

Often young writers aren’t ready to jump into a full story.

In the first months of school, we are getting to know students and determining their reading and writing skills. To assist in these endeavors, we often assign personal narratives at the start of the year.

I have found, however, that having students dive right into a full narrative is tricky. On one end of the spectrum, there are avid writers who produce twenty page novellas. On the other end, reluctant writers can be daunted by all that goes into fleshing out an entire story.

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This is why I like to start with vignettes instead. The dictionary definition of a vignette is “a brief, evocative description, account, or episode.” It is not the same as flash fiction in that it does not need to contain a clear plot. The goal of a vignette is to take a reader fully into a single moment. This can be done in prose or poetry form. It’s about creating the mood and is an awesome exercise in descriptive writing. There are many examples of vignettes in literary works. I also have students write a short explanation of what they learned from the moment to encourage more self-reflection.

An example of a vignette from my classroom.

In my classes we start the year by writing a series of 2–3 vignettes and putting them together in a small book. Year after year, students say that this writing assignment was one of their favorites. I hope it becomes a favorite in your classroom as well. Below are the steps I take to help students write inspiring vignettes.

STEP 1: Activate Memories

Students must first decide on moments worthy of writing about. One way to help them recall important memories is using a visualization activity . I also like to use short mentor texts and film clips to focus on different types of memories. For example, we read the excerpt from To Kill a Mockingbird when Scout gets in trouble for shaming Walter Cunningham, and then students list times they got in trouble as a kid. Or we watch the scene from The Sandlot when Squints puts the moves on Wendy Peffercorn, and then we list our childhood crushes. I try to focus on positive, fun memories, being mindful that some students have experienced traumatic events they may not be prepared to share.

STEP 2: Write With Them

Once we have a list of possible moments to write about, I have students choose one and focus in on the sensory details of the moment. They have to take us there. What were they seeing, hearing, smelling, etc in that moment? I choose a moment too and write with them. I do this to demystify the process of writing (even adults don’t write perfectly on the first try) and help them better get to know me.  

Another example of a revised vignette.

STEP 3: Revise for Brevity & Description

Vignettes are meant to be short , so as we move into the revision phase, these words from Thomas Jefferson become our mantra: “The most valuable of all talents is never using two words when one will do.” Students work together to cut any words or sentences that don’t clearly describe the scene or help create the mood. I use my own writing and let students revise it to gain their trust. If I’m trusting them to hear my thoughts and help improve my writing, I hope they will trust me to do the same.

Have you used vignette writing in your classroom? We’d love to hear about your experiences in our WeAreTeachers HELPLINE group on Facebook.

Plus, what is narrative writing and how do I teach it ?

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• Literary Terms

When & How to Write a Vignette

• Definition & Examples
• When & How to Write a Vignette

How to Write a Vignette

A vignette is used to add depth and understanding to something in a story. Its language should be descriptive and detailed about whatever it is focusing on, whether it is a person, place, thing, or idea. It can be a very useful device for providing insight about a person in a story. For example, a vignette can express:

• a character’s memory about something, or
• a flashback to a moment or time in his life, which in turn helps to shed light on his overall life
• it could also describe the character physically or emotionally to help develop the reader’s idea of his personality and behavior.
• the same details can be expressed about a story’s setting to help readers feel more familiar with the character’s surroundings.

Basically, a vignette can be used to describe anything at anytime, so long as it is relevant to an overall story. For example, a vignette about the flavor of a secret vanilla frosting recipe would be a great piece of a story about a baker, but, on its own, it would be irrelevant, because we wouldn’t know that it was a secret.

When to Use a Vignette

Vignettes are used when an author wants to share details about certain aspects of a story. So, vignettes are most valuable in creative writing (both fiction and nonfiction), because they are devices that are descriptive and artistic in nature. As mentioned, a vignette does not exist independently; it is a small part of a bigger picture. It only makes sense when it’s in the context of the overall story. It can be a scene in a play, a stanza in a poem, a paragraph, or even a whole chapter of a book or short story within a book—vignettes can take any short form within a larger work. Furthermore, a book can also hold a series of vignettes (in the form of short stories or narratives ) that all have a common focus or element, and together make up a portrait or larger story, as in Sandra Cisneros’s book The House on Mango Street (see “Examples of Vignette in Literature”).

List of Terms

• Alliteration
• Amplification
• Anachronism
• Anthropomorphism
• Antonomasia
• APA Citation
• Aposiopesis
• Autobiography
• Bildungsroman
• Characterization
• Circumlocution
• Cliffhanger
• Comic Relief
• Connotation
• Deus ex machina
• Deuteragonist
• Doppelganger
• Double Entendre
• Dramatic irony
• Equivocation
• Extended Metaphor
• Figures of Speech
• Flash-forward
• Foreshadowing
• Intertextuality
• Juxtaposition
• Literary Device
• Malapropism
• Onomatopoeia
• Parallelism
• Pathetic Fallacy
• Personification
• Point of View
• Polysyndeton
• Protagonist
• Red Herring
• Rhetorical Device
• Rhetorical Question
• Science Fiction
• Self-Fulfilling Prophecy
• Synesthesia
• Turning Point
• Understatement
• Urban Legend
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What is a Vignette in Writing? Examples, Definitions, and How to Create Them

A v ign ette is a  short descriptive narrative , usually humorous in tone , that paints a vivid picture of a scene , character , or situation . Common ly used in creative writing and journalism , v ign ettes can also be used to provide background information or set up a context for a story . Some examples are “ The old general store filled with dusty jars and rusty tools ,” or “ The couple danced in the moon light , laughing and singing “. Some examples from famous books are the opening of A Christmas Carol , or the start of The Great Gatsby .

The Essence of Vignettes

Vignettes can be compared to a scrumptious bite of chocolate cake. They may be small, but they pack a flavorful punch. Each little piece offers a snapshot of a larger world, engaging readers and capturing their imaginations. While these tasty morsels may not be as filling as a full-length novel, they can provide a satisfying literary experience.

The Purpose and Use of Vignettes

Vignettes are versatile tools that can serve a variety of purposes in writing. They can:

• Set the stage : By providing a glimpse into the setting, a vignette can draw readers into the story and make them feel as though they’re right there, experiencing the world with the characters.
• Character exploration : A vignette can offer insight into a character’s personality or backstory, allowing readers to connect with them on a deeper level.
• Create atmosphere : By focusing on the sensory details of a scene, a vignette can evoke a specific mood or atmosphere, immersing readers in the story’s world.
• Break up long narratives : In longer works, vignettes can serve as breaks between chapters or sections, giving readers a moment to pause and absorb the story so far.

Vignette Writing Tips

Crafting a vignette that captivates readers is no piece of cake, but with a few simple tips, writers can create vivid, engaging snapshots that leave readers craving more.

• Keep it short : Vignettes are meant to be brief, so avoid the temptation to ramble on. Aim for a few paragraphs or even just a single paragraph, depending on the desired effect.
• Focus on details : To make a scene come alive, hone in on specific sensory details. Describe sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and textures to create a rich, immersive experience.
• Show, don’t tell : Instead of simply stating information, use descriptive language and action to illustrate a scene or character.
• Embrace ambiguity : Vignettes often leave readers with unanswered questions, sparking their curiosity and encouraging them to imagine the rest of the story.

Examples of Vignettes in Literature

A christmas carol.

In Charles Dickens’ classic tale, the opening vignette sets the stage for the story that follows:

“Marley was dead: to begin with. There is no doubt whatever about that. The register of his burial was signed by the clergyman, the clerk, the undertaker, and the chief mourner. Scrooge signed it: and Scrooge’s name was good upon ’Change, for anything he chose to put his hand to. Old Marley was as dead as a door-nail.”

This vignette introduces readers to the gloomy atmosphere and the cold-hearted character of Ebenezer Scrooge.

The Great Gatsby

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s iconic novel opens with a vignette that offers a glimpse into the narrator’s mindset:

“In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I’ve been turning over in my mind ever since. ‘Whenever you feel like criticizing any one,’ he told me, ‘just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had.'”

By sharing this personal reflection, the vignette sets the tone for the themes of wealth, class, and privilege that permeate the novel.

Crafting Your Own Vignettes

Ready to take a stab at creating a delectable vignette? Here’s a step-by-step recipe to get started:

• Choose a subject: Decide on a character, setting, or situation to explore.
• Focus on the senses: Identify specific details that bring the subject to life.
• Write the scene: Begin crafting the vignette, incorporating the sensory details and focusing on showing, not telling. 4. Edit and refine: Review the vignette and make any necessary revisions to sharpen the imagery, tighten the language, and ensure it meets the desired length.

With practice and patience, the art of crafting delightful vignettes will become second nature. These bite-sized snapshots can add depth and intrigue to any story, making them invaluable tools for writers of all genres. So go ahead, indulge in some literary chocolate cake, and watch as readers savor every last morsel.

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How To Write A Vignette

November 19, 2020

Short stories, poems, and vignettes, like their long-form counterparts, can be used as literary devices. Their brevity makes them ideal for exploring and expressing a specific detail or moment in a larger story. In the context of fiction writing, vignettes can be used to establish a setting, describe a character, or provide a snapshot of a moment in time. The use of vignettes in nonfiction allows the writer to focus on a single topic in detail. Whatever your purpose, here are steps for how to write a vignette that will get you started in the right direction.

Master the art of the hook

Writing vignettes that suck readers in so that they want to learn more isn’t as simple as telling the reader the surface details, but rather can be quite a task. You’ll need to set the scene carefully to give your reader maximum context, which will let you get to the real meat — the details of action, conflict, and emotion — quicker. Creating a hook is a good way to prepare the reader for what lies ahead, and it can happen in a number of ways. You can choose a relatable setting that will resonant with a significant number of readers, like a wedding where you’re able to showcase the groom’s neuroses along with the bride’s disdain for mudroom weddings. Or you can use a hook at the beginning of the vignette to give the reader a glimpse of the world and allow them to practice familiarizing themselves with an environment — which will allow you to jump right into the scene space with the elements you’ve brainstormed and culled from your memory.

Writing a great hook also helps your vignette appear even shorter than it is. Keep in mind that the shorter your summation, the better chance you have as a writer to not flesh out unnecessary details. Read your summaries aloud to hear how the words will roll off your readers’ tongues. The hook should be just long enough to grab a reader’s attention and not so long that it detracts from the forefront of your vignette. It can also help for you to use particular details that generate interest by giving the reader a taste of the full story. Don’t bog the beginning down with too many details, but give the reader a sense of the characters, conflict, or emotional tone so that they’ll feel the need to learn more.

Keep it focused

Vignettes are all about providing context for your character and their surroundings, but the best way to give your reader that context is to keep things focused. The scenes in the vignette should all fit together into a cohesive whole, while also being distinct on their own. As you write, think about the continuum from slice of life to author intrusion. Can you seamlessly weave back and forth between showing your character’s world and coloring it in for the reader, or must it be a choppy, disjointed looking experience? Are the details capturing the essence of how you want the reader to feel about the character and their situation, or are they just on-the-fly inferences you’re filling in about what’s going on? Completing a successful vignette means making sure there’s no tension and/or conflict in each scene on their own, and also a strong cumulative effect that paints a complete picture for the reader.

Make each scene count. If you have ten scenes or less, you can have them all be full of tension or conflict. If you have more scenes though, you’ll probably need to narrow it down and focus it more on creating a sense of cohesion across the vignette as a whole. A great way to do this is to create a few moments of tension or conflict that foreshadow a conflict that would affect the entirety of the story even more, and have a cumulative overall impact on the reader. This makes your vignette cohesive and pulls in all its disparate elements while also providing a hook at the end for a reason to come back again.

Don’t have backstory

A vignette generally takes place over just one moment, so beware of describing a character’s entire background, either in your vignette or in the scene preceding it. If the characters have come from other parts of the story, save their introduction for the scene following the vignette. Feel free to have other characters appear or reappear later as plot developments warrant. Do remember to make your vignette pinpoint-specific and include specific setting descriptions to paint a mental image for your reader. But remember, this is a short piece of writing, so don’t waste the limited space for overindulgence.

Vignettes have small ordinary moments that reveal an extraordinary state of existence. So you should choose ordinary circumstances to present them. Invite your readers to notice the smaller moments or sights or sounds that most people take for granted. In spending just a moment or two with a character, you can provide a unique perspective on ordinary life. Play with the time frame. Let the reader see the past to bring an event up to the present moment. Try to end on a twist.

State that theme clearly and boldly

Because a vignette is a small work excerpt, you need to make sure that the big picture of a theme is clear. You should write vignettes that delve into the depths of certain characters and emotions. Just as the theme is larger than conflict, so is the word vignette. It should highlight particular characters, giving them a sense of identity as the story goes along and as it moves through its three-part, five-act, or seven-chapter structure.

The character in vignettes is often under a microscope because the reader isn’t sure about her story. She must be shrouded in mystery, but in a way that also provides the reader with the required props for the comprehension of random vignettes. The vignette character, then, is typically a subject that lends itself to exploration or enhancement. She should serve as a paragon, but become better known as the author progresses story events. The springboards from which some of a vignette character’s identity comes should never be the harbinger of the story’s climax.

Balance theme with all characters and plot threads

Vignettes should stand alone from the world of a story or novel, but remain rooted enough that they add texture to a narrative. To truly learn how to write a vignette, you should study some examples of the best vignette examples that you can find. Do these vignettes complement or subvert the protagonist or main character of the story? Many times, the author might use a vignette in a larger scene, to provide a useful backdrop that completes the snippet like a portrait fits into a mural.

As an example of wrapping a vignette into a longer narrative, take a look at How to Dig a Hole to China by Katherine Roeder. This longer narrative provides a plot-oriented vignette, outlining a two-page procedure for tunneling to the other side of the world. The vignette begins light, with the example of a boy asking Dad what a hole to China would even look like. The length intensifies as the section of the instructions progresses. The sudden appearance of spades, shovels, and water-filled dustpans, along with misdirections about weight and falling, creates humor that adeptly juxtaposes with the possible physical ramifications of this lengthy project. Read the simple prescription once, and then imagine the ramifications of following it. If a chapter of fiction followed the physical labor necessary for the father and son to build this tunnel, it would leave very little physical or mental room for anything else, making this one of the most subversive—and hilarious—two-pages in fiction.

Think in terms of montage

In a vignette, the details that fill out the story come second to building a strong character and emotion. You don’t want to aim for naturalistic language, because with such a small space, every word becomes important. Vignettes are like kinetic action sequences in film that condense up into a single freeze frame of a moment. Use this quality to your advantage, to fire off a quick piece that doesn’t waste words. 

Consider the sentence, “The fire was beautiful, like the great lion roaring at the world,” and think of how easy that would be to expand on into something complete, right? The image of the fiery lion alone could support an essay. However, the author Yoko Tawada uses that sentence to anchor a micro-story, a vignette, in the small Japanese collection Silence . She expands the original “like the lion roaring” part into an entire paragraph of the fire’s roar, heat, and the characters’ responses. Then she ends with the simple, extreme image of the animal itself.

Vignettes take us out of reality and give us a choice vantage point on another person’s life. Start by taking snapshots of your character’s life that show conflict and resolution. Like an actual camera, these frozen slices can zoom in, leaving out unnecessary detail and cutting to show the true face of conflict. As a result, vignettes feel meaningful and intense in a way that many longer stories fail to be. They ask questions, rather than explaining or carrying out a chain of events. 

Learn it backwards and forwards

If you don’t want to seem sheerly incompetent, remember to “show early, show often.” The reader sees the vignette being created before his or her very eyes, rather than being told about it or eavesdropping on an important conversation. The vignette is written in chronological order, instead of in “montage” form, and it has action rather than being entirely dialogue-driven. No matter how literary you think your book is, you cannot have characters sitting around and snapping quips at each other. It won’t work. Remember to put your story in the past, present or future — the vignette isn’t a flash-forward, backstory or flash-sideways, even if there’s the inevitable premonition or instance of déjà vu. The vignette opens in the present and stays in the same place, even if the narrator is reflecting upon the past. Without the aid of melodrama, without sudden revelation and without intent on your part, the reader will still “feel” the truth in the vignette. It should be pregnant with emotion and etched in the mind of the reader as if they witnessed it themselves.

Choose the point-of-view of the narrator carefully. A small tale told by a giant – or vice versa – will put the reader in a different position. You might choose to tell your vignette in the third person, so that you can speak directly to your reader and frame the action just so. Or, you might tell it in the first person to allow perspective and empathy for your narrator — or maybe even for his or her antagonist, if the vignette is done from their point-of-view. In the second paragraph, the reader sees a general idea of who the character is, and what they’re like. Is there something that makes the character “iconic?” Is their amnesia or a curse, or an illness or disability? Do they have a measurable characteristic flaw, need, or other “hook” in their personality? Do they feel or react to things a certain way — and would the reader recognize it?

Use language and writing devices

Ask yourself a series of questions about how you want your vignette to read, including what it will be framed/introduced by, what purpose it will serve, what length and tone it will have, and whether it will have multiple parts or set scenes. Decide what tone your vignette will have — is it somber and tender, or light and playful? Does it serve a structural or expository purpose, or should it be used to introduce a specific tone? Some ideas for framing a vignette might be to use dialogue, a letter, or something that the characters have created, as a means for introducing the story.

Then, look back on your story and see where points could use a little more definition or description. Think about what the characters are doing when your story takes place, and whether they are in locations that are easy to describe. When you’re done with that, start to outline your vignette. Decide what it will be made up of — will it be one scene or multiple scenes, a paragraph long, or anything else? Then determine what tone, purpose, and setting you want your vignette to have, and the way you want to write it, based on the questions you decided on in paragraph one.

Include dialogue

Vignettes are much shorter than works of fiction, so the brevity forces you to zero in on the most important details. This doesn’t mean that you can’t add extras, however. Vignettes benefit from including dialogue, and you can also lean on sensory detail and metaphor to make complicated thoughts or feelings accessible. Pay attention to word choices as well, since big, bold language makes vignettes easier to read.

Your goal with a vignette is to start strong and finish strong and ensure there’s a good balance between dialog and description. While you may start a vignette with an intimate observation, you should end it with a solid plot point or moral lesson that makes the reader want to keep on reading. Like any other type of writing, you should write your vignette a bit unevenly. But if you’re looking for a way to cut edge in the right direction, be sure to invest extra time into your introduction, to make it feel like an exciting invitation into the rest of the piece.

Vignettes are important in that they provide insight into their host text. While the majority of your vignette should be able to stand alone, you may want to provide links to a larger work, as well as a general overview of the chapter, character, or story that this vignette serves. In other words, once you’ve written your vignette, make sure it reads well on its own, but spend a little time researching what it links. What’s the scene about? Why does this scene need to be told? What does it mean in terms of plot or mood? Do you provide answers to these questions, or at least mention that they exist? Now that you’re ready to write a vignette, what will you write first?

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