A Short History of the Short Story

The story should keep the reader in a state of suspense, and instead of teaching a moral lesson or imposing any belief on the reader, the story should leave the reader free to judge characters, events, and situations in light of his own understanding

The legend is a crude form of myth and has greater resemblance to the short story. Both are old and formerly quite popular forms of short stories. Similarly, the fable is an early form of short story, in which animals and birds are the characters and moral lessons are taught

The short story has only flashes of description and few characters. A character is not portrayed fully, and a single incident usually completes the story. Hence, the short story is considered as a one man story today

A story should be a story; a record of things happening full of incidents, swift movements, unexpected development, leading through suspense to a climax and a satisfying denouement

The short story must have a definite design, which includes a point of departure, a climax and a point of test