Sudden, flash, nano stories: What’s very short fiction?

Readers and lovers of literature have been long enjoying short fiction, with short stories in print magazines typically averaging around 7,500 words in the old days. But what about stories that have fewer than 1,000? Here’s a quick introduction to the so-called very short fiction.


Very short fiction is also usually known as flash fiction, sudden fiction, or nano stories. It’s also often called micro-fiction, micro narrative, micro-story, hint fiction, and postcard fiction. It’s composed of stories that are mostly under 1,000 words and maintain a world of their own, with many venues to explore for this kind of work online.


This category of short stories is becoming more and more popular among writers who find joy and challenge in seeing how few words can be used to create a story. As far as length goes, it’s a far cry from the forms of previous years and decades: the novella with its 20,000 to 50,000 words; the novelette with its 7,000 to 20,000; and the short story with its 1,000 to 7,000.

According to the magazine Flash Fiction Stories, its product stories are in the 500 to 1,000 word range. Others define flash fiction as stories under 2,000 words, which makes O. Henry’s popular story “The Magi” – some 70 words over the count – qualify as one. Micro fiction, too, is defined as having 100 words at the most.


Whatever it’s called and no matter the word count, very short fiction is a reality in literary production today. One can only get curious about how many readers actually share the enthusiasm of its writers in the deliberate conservation of words and the somewhat fleeting nature of such stories.


John Eilermann from St. Louis, Missouri is a student of comparative literature. It is his goal to develop an understanding of literary compositions regardless of boundaries such as language, culture, and tradition. Learn more on this website..