His six-word story was, “For Sale: Baby shoes, never worn.” Hemingway won the bet. Researchers have long since proven that Hemingway's baby shoe story has been around since at least 1906. It wasn't even attributed to Hemingway until 1991, 30 years after the author's death.

A piece of fiction shorter than 1,000 words is considered a “short short story” or “flash fiction,” and anything less than 300 words is rightfully called “microfiction.”

A short story is a piece of prose fiction. It can typically be read in a single sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood.