What is a short story in literature?
In recent modern history, short stories have seen a surge in popularity, boosted by technological advancements. In the early nineteenth century, as printing press technology and economics improved, more people in America and across the world got access to newspapers and magazines.
This began in the 1830s and grew throughout the next few decades.
Ironically, at a time when the Internet has made all types of entertainment available at our fingertips, modern readers are rekindling their interest in short stories and rediscovering great short stories.
What is a short story?
A short story is a type of fiction writing that is distinguished by its briefness. A short story is generally between 3,000 and 7,000 words long, with the average length being about 5,000 words.
Short stories are generally used to capture a mood, covering only a few occurrences with a small cast of people — in some circumstances, they may even skip the narrative entirely.
Many aspiring authors have experimented with the genre, with their work appearing in literary journals and anthologies. Others have made it their bread and butter, such as Raymond Carver and Alice Munro.
There is an astonishing diversity of short tales out there, from “starter” short story authors to short story experts.
Key elements of a short story
- A short story’s setting is usually simplified (one time and location), and just one or two major characters are introduced without complete backstories. Every word and story detail needs to work twice as hard in this shortened, concentrated format!
- Short stories, unlike novels, usually focus on a single narrative rather than many subplots. Some stories follow a typical narrative arc, beginning with exposition (description), rising action, climax (peak moment of conflict or action), and resolution at the conclusion. Contemporary short fiction, on the other hand, is more likely to start in the middle of the action (in medias res), engaging readers immediately in a dramatic scenario.
- Unlike short tales in the past, which generally had a central theme or moral lesson, today’s stories sometimes have ambiguous ends. Unresolved stories like this encourage open-ended interpretations and indicate a more complex view of reality and human behavior.
- Although the short story genre lends itself to experimenting with prose writing style and form, most short story authors still use classic literary devices (point of view, imagery, foreshadowing, metaphor, diction/word choice, tone, and sentence structure) to create a distinct atmosphere.
Short story — The History
Ancient legends, mythology, folklore, and fables may all be traced back to short-form storytelling in communities all over the world. Although some of these tales were written down, the majority were passed down through oral traditions.
One Thousand and One Nights (Middle Eastern folk tales by numerous writers, subsequently known as Arabian Nights) and Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer were among the most well-known stories by the 14th century.
Short story collections by individual authors did not become increasingly common in print until the early nineteenth century.
The Brothers Grimm fairy tales were first published, followed by Edgar Allen Poe’s Gothic fiction, and finally, works by Anton Chekhov, who is widely recognized as the father of the contemporary short story.
Short stories became more popular as the number of print publications and journals increased. Short, plot-driven narratives with public appeal became popular once newspaper and magazine editors began publishing stories as entertainment.
The Atlantic Monthly, The New Yorker, and Harper’s Magazine were all paying good money for short stories with greater literary skill in the early 1900s. The short story as we know it now originated during that golden age of publication.
Short story — Style
The author’s style is defined by his or her vocabulary, imagery, tone, and overall story feeling. It has to do with the author’s perspective on the topic. The tone of certain short stories might be ironic, humorous, cold, or tragic.
Different Types of Short Stories
1. The classic
Despite the fact that short tales must be concise works of literature, they frequently incorporate elements from novels to maintain a similar effect. The plot will resemble long-form fiction by having a clear exposition, climax, and conclusion. A ‘classic short story is the most story-telling-by-the-numbers that a short story can get.
In certain ways, short stories differ from larger literary works in that they are less likely to feature a large cast of characters, various points of view, or several climaxes like novellas and novels.
However, if the author performs their job well, a ‘classic’ short story may be just as moving and unforgettable as a book, if not more so.
Example: “Speaking in Tongues” by ZZ Packer
2. A vignette:
A vignette is a short story that depicts a neatly packed moment in time, generally in a highly technical manner. ‘Vignette’ is a French word that usually refers to a small portrait, but it also refers to “a brief evocative description, account, or episode” in a literary sense. This might be a person, an event, or a location.
A vignette short story is all about fleetingness. As a result, it’ll probably be heavy on description and short on plot. You could come across a very elaborate description of a character or place, often loaded with symbolism that connects to a central theme.
Example: “Viewfinder” by Raymond Carver
3. An Anecdote:
When told to friends, an anecdote is most effective when it is fast-paced, funny, and has a swift crescendo. The same may be said of short stories that use this method to tell a story.
In contrast to the directness of other short stories and flash fiction, anecdotal pieces take on a more conversational tone and have a more meandering structure. It might follow a traditional story format, such as the classic short story, or it can focus on a certain style of describing an incident.
An anecdote, in essence, allows a writer to have some fun with the way a tale is presented — though the exact way it unfolds remains significant.
Example: “We Love You Crispina” by Jenny Zhang
4. Genre experimenting:
Short stories, by their very nature, are more adaptable pieces of fiction that aren’t bound by the constraints of lengthier pieces. It implies that, in comparison to a full-fledged novel, they may play around with and question the expectations of a genre’s expected conventions in a comparatively “low-stakes” way.
An experiment isn’t always a thorough reinvention of the genre. Instead, one may discover a new take on a classic trope.
Example: “A Good Man is Hard to Find” by Flannery O’Connor
Conclusion
A short story depicts one element of a character’s life. It might be a story, an event, a feeling description, or even a simple act. A reader might be influenced and even inspired by a short narrative.
Those who are unable to read novels will like the short stories. Furthermore, in a short story, the characters disclose their deepest thoughts, motives, sentiments, emotions, and other concepts.
The theme is based on a subject, such as death, hope, or the American dream, and how that subject impacts the human condition, society, or life. As a reader, concentrate on what the tale reveals about the subject. The subject should be stated in the form of a broad observation of human nature.
Thanks and Regards,
Isabell S.
