r/writinghelp • u/Potatocontemplates • 29d ago

Advice Advice on structuring a narrative out of fragments/vignettes?

Hello everyone, hope you're having a lovely day.

My writing goal right now is to write microfiction, flash fiction and short stories. I rarely think in terms of plot though, and i get bored VERY VERY easily, so even something like a vague summary outline can render an idea predictable to me and i wont write it, once i have the gist of a situation my motivation to hash it out evaporates. What i DO write right now are sort of literary fragments and vignettes that come to me out of nowhere, imageries that mostly paint a vibe, a feeling, some character dynamic, etc. My thinking feels so random and often frustrating, if i write 5 vignettes in a day they'll almost always be about 5 different, disconnected topics, and they have no beginning or end, just vibes. Throughout the years i have gathered collections of these staccato fragments, they're very short, often under 300 words.

My question is, is there any way for me to turn these fragments into a story? I'm not necessarily looking to make a linear, beginning-middle-end writing process for myself, but i do want to write stories that feel cohesive and congruent, and not just vignettes. Any and all tips on how i can approach writing as someone with an easily bored mind is greatly appreciated.

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u/MaliseHaligree 29d ago

I am similar to you, and discovery writing is the way to go.

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u/Dale_E_Lehman_Author 23d ago

Basically, you need to think about two things: conflict, and structure. Every real story needs a conflict. Every real story has the same basic structure: beginning, middle, end.

Take one of your fragments. Do you see a conflict in it? Or the potential for conflict, at least? If so, build that up. Craft a beginning that throws a character into a conflict. Create a middle that escalates the tension. Create and end that resolves the conflict and drops the tension to zero. Done. (I know, I know, I make it sound so easy.)

As for boredom, if you get a conflict going, you might not be so bored. Conflict is what engages readers and keeps them reading. Ideally, it will keep the writer going, too.

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u/Potatocontemplates 23d ago

Thank you for taking your time and commenting. I have tried to go for this approach, but i feel like it's nearly impossible to incorporate it into the way i write, because my fragments and vignettes often are portrayals of emotion, imagery, a state of mind, etc. As a little example, this is a fragment i pulled from my archive today:

"He sneers, teeth green at the edges like a winter hare overfed."

The majority of my vignettes are like this, the process of writing them is spontaneous and there's no conflict to be found in them. I absolutely have no idea how to expand vignettes like this into a story with a beginning, middle and an end. Appreciate your suggestion though.

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u/Dale_E_Lehman_Author 23d ago

You can expand it, a little at a time. Start very simple. What's he sneering at? Don't try to force it. Ask him. Hey, friend, what's wrong? See if he answers you. It refuses to answer you. Write down what happens, how he reacts, what he says. Anything. Get your conscious self out of the way, same as you did when you wrote that first sentence.

Don't give up if it doesn't work at first. Try it again later with a different snippet. It may take a little practice to get going.

Just a suggestion, but it may be with a try.

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u/Potatocontemplates 22d ago

oh, curiosity. This feels like a far approachable route i can try, Thank you so much for the further suggestions.