A Vine- What?! Let's Talk about Short Stories
A vignette is a small scene, a descriptive passage, or a short essay, focusing on one particular moment, or giving an impression about an idea, or a character, setting, or mood (Literarydevices.com). In other words, it's a literary snapshot of a moment in time, some particular memory or story, detail or description, so rich and important that it stands on its own as a kind of mini- story, perhaps working within a larger work, or working by itself entirely. A vignettes like a chapter of a book, or one episode from a television series; both tell a story within themselves, but also serve as one small part of something much bigger.
Can you think of important moment in your life, or scenes that have stuck in your memory better than any others, that really stand for who you are, and who you've become? Is there one person in your life, so important, that he or she would serve as an important and relevant symbol in describing the culture from which you come?
On a separate piece of paper, brainstorm moments that have been extremely important to you, and try to provide as much details to those moments as possible. Think about how these moments, places, or people, have shaped you, and what these elements have specifically contributed to your life.
Why is this moment worth mentioning? What happened in this particular place that has contributed to your overall understanding of who you are as a person? What has this person taught you?
Think about it, and be prepared to talk about some of your ideas with a partner in class.
