Short-short
When I was at Clarion West, far back in the ancient mythical past, at one point we had one of those typical "what is a story, anyway?" debates. (In weeks 2-3 there were a fair number of critiques that started out "This isn't a story." Some of them came from the teachers. Some were aimed at me, so I may've taken it a bit personally.) One of the things I noted during this debate is that the short-short is a valid story form, and that it's hard but not impossible to make an emotional impact in 500 words.
I don't think anyone else agreed with me, though. And to be fair, I have to admit that my primary example at the time was 100 Great Science Fiction Short-Short Stories, which in retrospect may not have been the best choice; there are quite a few joke stories in that anthology, with cute little punch lines at the end. More generally, a lot of the "great" short-shorts in SF are basically ideas with punch lines; clever, but not rich or deep or moving.
Nonetheless, I maintain that it is possible to be rich or deep or moving in under 1000 words (the usual definition of a short-short), and even in under 500 words (one of the definitions of "flash fiction"). There are plenty of examples: there's a bunch of good stuff in the Sudden Fiction anthologies, for instance.
At any rate, it seems to me that the short-short has been in full flower lately in online magazines. Among other things:
- Vestal Review is an online magazine (now available in a limited print edition as well) that pays 3 to 10 cents/word for stories under 500 words.
- The Infinite Matrix has become a major haven for short-shorts (see the archives), featuring:
- Richard Kadrey's "Nanotales" (my favorite so far is "Ice House")
- A set of Jessica Amanda Salmonson nanotales (filling in for Kadrey temporarily)
- A projected 80-story series, "The Sleep of Reason," by Michael Swanwick, "based on Los Caprichos, a series of etchings by Francisco Goya."
- Swanwick's well-known "Periodic Table of Science Fiction" series at Sci Fiction
- Ben Rosenbaum's "Other Cities" series at Strange Horizons
- Some other individual pieces at SH, including:
- "Estranged," by Bruce Holland Rogers
- "A Winter's Tale," by Nora M. Mulligan
- "Waiting," by John R. Platt
- "Medusa at Morning," by Beth Bernobich
- "Toaster of the Gods," by Randall Coots
- "Travel Agency," by Ellen Klages
- "Two Quarter King," by Daniel J. Bishop
- And forthcoming stories by Ray Vukcevich and Jay Lake.
So I'm glad to see that the short-short is alive and well. One thing I've noticed about them lately is that though word economy is essential, many good short-shorts don't skimp on descriptive detail. There isn't room for a lot of plot, but there is room for mood, atmosphere, and character as revealed by specific details. Which is good for longer stories as well, of course.