Decoding Fiction: What is a Short Story Anyway?
It’s true: Short stories are harder to write than novels. Surprising, isn’t it? You might think it’s supposed to be the reverse because novels are much more time-consuming than short stories (both in creation and consumption). But Lawrence Block, in Telling Lies for Fun and Profit (1981), observes that because they’re easier to get down, they’re much more difficult to get right.
That said, what is a short story? What makes it work, and what makes it fail? What is “short” enough? Those are questions all too common for writers and editors alike—and if you’re asking them, you’re in luck. Below, we discuss the definition, structure, and elements of short fiction.
Table of Contents
The Definition of a Short Story
Quickly defined, a short story is a work of prose that can be read in one sitting. Common paying markets indicate the ideal short story length is 4,000-5,000 words. They can be longer, but go beyond 10,000 words, and you start wandering into the realm of the novelette. That’s usually harder to sell. Here’s a quick breakdown of fiction word counts:
- Flash Fiction (up to 1,500)
- Short Story (1,500-10,000)
- Novelette (10,000-20,000)
- Novella (20,000-40,000)
- Novel (40,000+)
Short stories date back to oral storytelling. They took many shapes, including fables, fairy tales, myths, and legends. They were told to educate and entertain. When the printing press was developed in 14th-century Europe, the short story we know today began to take form. However, it wasn’t until the 19th century that the modern short story would arrive—complete with all its variations of style and genres.
Key Elements of a Short Story
The purpose of a short story is to stir emotion in its audience, and it needs to do this fairly quickly because of its length. This means every word counts. Short works of fiction rely on concise storytelling to capture the essence of a character, theme, or conflict.
That’s why you’ll find a short story usually focuses on a singular emotion brought on by a relatable character’s conflict. But how do you bring this across? How do you edit your short story to hold the reader’s attention from the beginning to the end of your story?
The answer lies in breaking down a short story’s key characteristics.
1. Characters and Their Development
Readers get to know them through their dialogue and thoughts, their responses to conflict, and the descriptions of their mannerisms and appearances.
You’ll often hear the advice that characters need to have changed in some way by the end of a story. This is, of course, subjective (but very reasonable) advice. If your character hasn’t changed, what was the point of the story? Can you imagine a short story collection where ordinary people do everyday things, and no amount of conflict changes them—even a little?
2. A Look at the Setting
It’s a good idea to use your senses when describing it. What does it smell like? Look like? Feel like? Answering those questions will convey a better setting to readers.
That said, short stories often take place in a single setting. An example would be many of Shirley Jackson’s short story collections, frequently set in suburbia. Jackson uses mundane locations to her advantage because they contrast with the eeriness of her plots, making them more effective. No one expects horrors to happen on their very own street.
3. A Story’s Theme
Themes aren’t usually stated directly and shouldn’t be confused with the plot. Instead, the characters’ behaviour and present conflict often infer themes. Ask yourself, what’s the central idea being communicated to you through the story?
For example, Little Red Riding Hood is the story of a girl who gets eaten by a wolf. The main idea here is that you shouldn’t trust strangers. Looking at Shirley Jackson again, her stories often involve themes of loneliness, prejudice, and the complexities of reality. Georgette Heyer’s stories, however, are thematically different, conveying themes of love, trust, and duty.
4. External and Internal Conflict
This can either be internal conflict (mental, emotional, physical) or external conflict (nature, society). In Lauren Beukes’s story, The Green, found in her 2016 short story collection, Slipping, we see examples of external and internal conflict in the same narrative:
The Green tells the story of Coco Yengko, a procurer of alien flora on a distant planet. When her lover dies because of the planet’s strange flora, her conflict quickly becomes internal as she struggles with an existential crisis.
5. How the Plot Works
This means it often consists of a beginning, a middle, and an end. It can be broken down further into the following parts:
- Exposition: The introduction to the setting and the characters. Keeping with Beukes’s story, it relies on exposition to characterise the setting and the protagonist. We know who Yengko is, where she is, and why she’s there—all without knowing her name until page four.
- Inciting Event: This is where disruption occurs and conflict starts, forcing characters to react and move the plot forward. In Yengko’s case, her lover dies.
- Rising Action: The lead-up to the crisis where the conflict is made known. Yengko must deal with internal conflict and reconsider her life. She gets into a fight with the man she blames for her loss.
- Crisis: The do-or-die moment. The protagonist must make a difficult choice of some kind, which will lead them to the climax. This would be where Yengko sees her lover outside the gym.
- Climax: The point of the story where the stakes are the highest. In a sudden turn of events, Yengko attempts to commit suicide.
- Falling Action: The result of the climax is explored before the resolution. Yengko wakes up in the infirmary and is offered a pension and other perks. The station has also undergone a renovation after the death of her lover, and he no longer roams the halls.
- Resolution: The resolution of the conflict. Yengko and her team are about to return to the field in new suits, but something isn’t right. Yengko accepts her fate and makes peace with it.
Hitting these “beats” in a short story will not only help move the plot along, but also the story’s pacing.
6. The Importance of Pacing
This is arguably the most important aspect of a short story because if your story moves too fast, readers won’t get invested. But if it’s too slow, they’ll get bored.
To make it even more interesting, each short story genre has a different pace. So, a good writing and editing tip is to study some of your favourite short story collections and try to identify the beats and rhythms for yourself.
What is a Short Story? What You Make It
The short story has been around for as long as language has. It’d be nice to think it predates fire, but that’s being optimistic about humanity’s priorities. Nevertheless, short stories are as significant today as they were when they were first told around a campfire. They’ve been dissected more now, from how a plot works to the characters’ conflict, but that doesn’t mean they’re any less important.
Short stories inspire and frighten and give hope. They entertain and teach, provide an escape while on a crowded train—or waiting in the car for your spouse who said they’ll “only be a minute”. So, in pondering the question of what is a short story, you find something versatile and impactful.
Blue Leaf Team
The Blue Leaf Editing team has over 10 years of combined editing, publishing, and book industry experience. We’re passionate about content and storytelling, and sharing our knowledge with others.
info@blueleafediting.com