Short Fiction
Short Fiction transcends all other genre types. They are simply stories that are shorter in length than a novel yet contain a logical beginning, middle and end.
Short fiction, also called “Short Stories,” can be much more challenging to write as they often focus on a specific episode rather than a detailed life history of the characters.
Some common subgenres of Short fiction include,
55 Fiction is a subgenre of stories that must be written in exactly 55 words. Steve Moss originated the concept in 1987.
Drabble refers to stories that are precisely one hundred words long. Actual stories were first published in several British collections, beginning with The Drabble Project in 1988, edited by Rob Meades and David Wake.
Flash fiction has a loose definition. Most publications regard it as stories from about 150 to 1000 words in length, though some will extend the limit to 1200 (rarely 1500) words.
Microfiction refers to stories under one hundred words in length.
Pinhead stories, also known as ‘nanofiction’ is an informal yet widespread designation for stories under fifty words in length.
Six Word stories are exactly that. For example, Ernest Hemingway is said to have written: “For sale, baby shoes, never used.”
Twitterfic is one of the newest subgenres. Each story must fit within one Twitter post (or ‘tweet’) of fewer than 140 characters.
Any or all of these subgenres of short fiction writing are excellent ways to begin your writing journey. They are also great excersises for dissolving that writers block.
Rory C. Keel
Wordsmith Six 