Short-shorts have been around forever -- think jokes, folk tales, parables, fables. Think of time-honored writers Poe, Maupassant, Chekhov, O. Henry. In the last thirty-some years, however, the form has gained recognition as a new genre of contemporary writing.

The form has become popular. Its reputation led me to teach a class this fall -- We Like Short-Shorts! -- at The Loft Literary Center. My students enjoyed working with this compressed, challenging structure; many are working with me on this column.

We will include something on the form every week: examples from published Minnesota writers and our own short-shorts. Then, finally, we'll sponsor a contest for all you Minnesota writers who want to show us how you can tell a very brief story. We hope you’ll get as excited as we are to read and write short-shorts. They’re fun!

For this first installment, let’s begin with a definition. Short-shorts (also called flash, sudden, micro, skinny, mini) are pieces of fiction, nonfiction and prose poetry with word counts under the number for short stories (usually 2,000 to 10,000). The exact number of words is set by writer and editor.

Our definition of short-shorts will be under 800 words -- 100 words for each letter of MinnPost.

Although brief, short-shorts pack a wallop. Voice, pacing, twists become essential elements, tone and situation of utmost importance. Because of its briefness, a good short-short is difficult to write. One must use precise plot, language and imagery to move and provoke.

Short-shorts demonstrate how every word in a story matters. A classic short-short is Ernest Hemingway’s six-word story: “For sale. Baby shoes. Never worn.”

Check back next Monday for more Short-Shorts.

Marge Barrett has published prose and poetry in numerous print and online magazines, and a lyrical essay was included in "The Best of the Web Anthology 2009" by Dzanc books. She received an MFA from the University of Minnesota, creative work awards from the College of St. Catherine, and grants to international writing programs in Prague and St. Petersburg.