I was a bit surprised when my short story professor started our first class this semester by asking, “What is a short story?” We’d just had that discussion about creative nonfiction in my other class, but I thought short stories—having been around longer than creative nonfiction—were more established. Everyone knows what they are… right?
Well, to start with, what’s short? Pick up any literary fiction journal and you’ll see that there’s a big variation in the length of a “short” story. In fact, even Joseph Conrad’s story “Heart of Darkness” is considered “short,” I believe—when it’s not called a novella (but we won’t get into that).
6-Word Story
If you want to go really, really short, there’s the 6-word story, started by Hemingway. He claims that his best story ever was this:
“For sale: baby shoes, never worn.”
Other short stories include:
“Longed for him. Got him. Shit.” ~ Margaret Atwood
“Easy. Just touch the match to” ~ Ursula K. Le Guin.
Sorry, no examples by yours truly. It’s harder than it looks.
6-Sentence Story
If six words is too short, you could write a story in six sentences. This sounded easier to me, especially if you write sentences like Herman Melville. But some people can write a six-sentence story with normal sentences. The Six Sentences Blog has a large selection of these stories, perfect for those short on time. Our prof had us write one for our final exam and encouraged us to submit it, so maybe mine will appear there someday soon.
There’s also the Drabble, a short story of exactly 100 words. That didn’t sound too bad to me, until I tried writing it. At 80 words, I’d barely started and realized I’d have to be much more concise.
Flash Fiction
Flash fiction comes in at 250-2500 words—much more manageable, but still very short. Despite being short, well-written flash fiction can still pack a huge emotional punch, like “Incarnations of Burned Children.” (Warning: if you’re a parent, that story is hard to read. I called it a “nightmare.”) Still, it seemed over too soon to me. I like more time to get to know the characters, the place.
Edgar Allen Poe said that a short story should be read in one sitting. Once upon a time, I could read a novel in one sitting. Now, I’d better hang out at the Six Sentences Blog. Novels get read in bits and pieces and are still my preferred type of fiction, but I find it interesting what can be done with words—and how so few can convey so much.
Jenn Ashworth describes a short story as “an intricate watch: every element has to count and must relate to everything else in a very deliberate way.” She adds, “With a novel, you can get inside that world and live there and engage with the characters in different ways. You can read a bit on Monday, but when you pick it up again on Friday you’ve changed your mind about things. You’re in a different mood and a novel is with you through all of that. A short story is a completely different experience for me. It’s a distilled hit. Like a shot of something. The intensity relies on brevity and concision. Everything on the page has to be precise and deliberate because everything relates to everything else.”
Want to try some short stories? May I recommend:
What sort of fiction—long or short—do you prefer?
4 Comments
Brittic – I probably agree with you… though I’m trying to stretch myself to write short, and I have discovered a few (longish) short stories that I really really like.
Cool! Now I know what a short story is. Though I still prefer the long novel – there’s so much more of a world to get into, and sometimes with short fiction, it’s hard to create sympathy for a character you’ve only gotten to know over three hundred words. Short fiction is an art of conciseness!
Love this post! Feel like I’ve learned something, and that never worn baby shoes short story gave me chills! 😀
I don’t know which I prefer for I enjoy both. Shorter can be harder to write, but we can learn so much from the process of both. Interesting post, thank you for all this info! 🙂