short story
Compact prose narrative
A short story is a work of fiction brief enough to read in one sitting—typically under 10,000 words.
Unlike novels, short stories usually focus on a single incident, character, or mood rather than sprawling plots.
The form demands economy: every sentence must earn its place.
She published her first short story in a literary magazine.
Ultra-short story genre
- microfictionVery short stories
- drabbleHundred-word story form
- vignetteBrief evocative description
- sketchHasty informal drawing
anecdote · tale · yarn · fable · parable · novella · one-shot · standalone
Storyline or land parcel
- charactersPersons in a narrative
- themeCentral recurring concept
- settingContext of events
- climaxPoint of greatest intensity
conflict · resolution · dialogue · twist · foreshadowing · denouement · epiphany · narrator
Russian short-story master
- PoeAmerican gothic writer's surname
- O. HenryAmerican short story writer
- CarverOne who cuts shapes
- KafkaCzech-Jewish literary surname
Maupassant · Borges · Hemingway · Mansfield · Tagore · oral tradition · folk tale · myth
Something unexplained or unknown
- horrorExtreme fear or disgust
- romanceLove and its excitement
- fantasyImaginative mental wandering
- science fictionSpeculative fiction with technological themes
suspense · literary fiction · slice of life · magical realism · gothic · detective · thriller · satire
flash fiction
Ultra-short story genre
- microfictionVery short stories
- drabbleHundred-word story form
- vignetteBrief evocative description
sketch · anecdote · tale · yarn · fable · parable · novella · one-shot · standalone · collected works
plot
Storyline or land parcel
- charactersPersons in a narrative
- themeCentral recurring concept
- settingContext of events
climax · conflict · resolution · dialogue · twist · foreshadowing · denouement · epiphany · narrator · point of view
Chekhov
Russian short-story master
Maupassant · Borges · Hemingway · Kafka · Mansfield · Tagore · oral tradition · folk tale · myth · legend
mystery
Something unexplained or unknown
science fiction · suspense · literary fiction · slice of life · magical realism · gothic · detective · thriller · satire · allegory
- storiestale, tales, myth, legend, fable
- talestale, funny stories, tall tales, yarns, folk tale
- literary formsnovel, novels, novella, poetry, poetry collections
- written worksessay, novel, anthologies, letter, literature
- school projectsscience fair, art projects, science experiment, book report, diorama
- writing formsfiction, nonfiction, poetry, memoir, essay