Short story

brief work of literature, usually written in narrative prose

The short story is a genre of literature that is usually fictional narrative prose. It tends to be more direct and less detailed than longer works of fiction like novels.

Short stories are closely related to oral (spoken) storytelling traditions and prose anecdotes. All of those develop the story very quickly and also come to a conclusion quickly.

Many authors now release their short stories together in a book, instead of one at a time. A short story can be written with only 10 words or fewer.