Micro Fiction

Micro Fiction, more commonly referred to as "Flash Fiction," is a very short prose story, typically 1,000 words or less.

Fast Facts

1. Also Known As: Flash Fiction, Sudden Fiction, Microfiction, Micro-story, Postcard Fiction, Short Short
2. Dates To: Aesop's Fables (circa 500 BC)
3. Enjoying a renaissance on the Internet
4. Authors: Anton Chekhov, O. Henry, Franz Kafka

Examples of Micro Fiction

Micro fiction must follow the structure of a more lengthy short story in that a piece should have characters, conflict, and feature some kind of change. In micro fiction, these ingredients are often only implied, allowing the reader to fill in the wide spaces between few words. Often, micro fiction will include ironic or "twist" endings. Here are two examples of very short micro fiction:

• "For sale. Baby shoes. Never worn." -- Ernest Hemingway

• "F" -- Cosmic Report Card: Earth by Forrest Ackerman

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