"A short story is a red-faced sprint. A short story is a one-night stand you'll remember years later in the shower or on a two-lane country highway. A short story is a precisely cut diamond. A short story is a glimpse---like the flash and buzz of a hummingbird---that stills your breath with its beauty. A short story, because it is short, can forgivably push boundaries, take risks. A short story attends to language in a gymnastic way that would exhaust any reader past 20 pages. A short story is impressionistic. A short story is a shot of whiskey, a snort of cocaine, a hand on a hot stove. A short story demands strenuous attention, supplying only the most essential components of character and narrative, asking the reader to infer the rest.
A short story can be perfect---a novel cannot."
From the article, In Celebration of the Short Story, by Benjamin Percy in the February 2013 issue of American Esquire.
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