{"schema":"https://ver.cy/schemas/card/1.0.0","id":"vr.tr.short-story","code":"thing-q49084","url":"https://ver.cy/models/thing/q49084/","name":"short story","alternateNames":["Fujiko, Fujio F. SF short stories","LGBTQ short story","erotic short story","short stories written by Karl May","hikayah","existential novella","Bangla short story","Cunti","Nature Futures","historical short story","horror short story","chuanqi"],"kind":"thing","status":"published","version":"0.2.0-wave.3","language":"en","classifiers":{"family":"Thing Registry","category":"Information and virtual systems","entryKind":"thing","plane":"INF","domain":["INF.MED"],"industry":[],"navPath":"","tags":[],"facets":{}},"whatItIs":"A work of prose fiction shorter than a novel, usually readable in one sitting and focused on a single incident, character or effect, developed as a modern literary form in the nineteenth century by writers such as Poe, Chekhov and Maupassant from older tales and anecdotes; short stories appear in magazines, collections and anthologies, in genres from literary fiction to science fiction, and have related forms such as the Arabic hikayah, while the novella is a distinct, generally longer form.","purpose":"Let an agent explain the short story as a form, distinguish it from the novella, tale and flash fiction, relay its history, theory and notable authors with attribution, and route to entries for specific genres, authors and collections.","scope":{"in":[],"out":[],"boundaries":[]},"distinguishingFeatures":["Brevity and unity","Modern literary form","Magazine origins","Genre breadth"],"structure":{"bundles":[{"id":"form","name":"Form","description":"What a short story is.","layers":[{"id":"definition","name":"Definition","description":"Definition and features.","findings":[{"id":"definition-finding","name":"Definition","description":"Definition.","questions":[{"text":"What is a short story, and what features define the form?","kind":"definition"},{"text":"Is the work a short story, a novella, flash fiction or a tale?","kind":"boundary"}]}]},{"id":"craft","name":"Craft","description":"Craft.","findings":[{"id":"craft-finding","name":"Craft","description":"Craft.","questions":[{"text":"How are short stories structured, and what techniques do writers use?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits narrative technique?","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"history","name":"History","description":"History and theory.","layers":[{"id":"history","name":"History","description":"History.","findings":[{"id":"history-finding","name":"History","description":"History.","questions":[{"text":"How did the short story develop from tales and anecdotes to the modern form, with attribution?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which references are standard?","kind":"provenance"}]}]},{"id":"theory","name":"Theory","description":"Theory.","findings":[{"id":"theory-finding","name":"Theory","description":"Theory.","questions":[{"text":"How have critics from Poe onward theorised the short story, with positions attributed?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Is the presentation neutral?","kind":"boundary"}]}]}]},{"id":"landscape","name":"Landscape","description":"Genres and traditions.","layers":[{"id":"genres","name":"Genres","description":"Genres and themes.","findings":[{"id":"genres-finding","name":"Genres","description":"Genres.","questions":[{"text":"How does the short story work across genres and thematic categories?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits the specific genre?","kind":"action"}]}]},{"id":"world","name":"World","description":"World traditions.","findings":[{"id":"world-finding","name":"World","description":"World.","questions":[{"text":"What short fiction traditions exist outside Europe and North America, such as the hikayah?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits the specific tradition?","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"practice","name":"Practice","description":"Publishing and teaching.","layers":[{"id":"publishing","name":"Publishing","description":"Publishing and prizes.","findings":[{"id":"publishing-finding","name":"Publishing","description":"Publishing.","questions":[{"text":"Where are short stories published, and which prizes recognise them?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which sources are cited?","kind":"provenance"}]}]},{"id":"teach","name":"Teach","description":"Teaching.","findings":[{"id":"teach-finding","name":"Teach","description":"Teaching.","questions":[{"text":"How is the short story taught in literature and creative writing?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits creative writing?","kind":"action"}]}]}]}]},"agentConduct":{"may":["Summarise and discuss short stories, crediting author, collection and translator.","Help writers draft and edit their own stories when they ask."],"mustNot":["Reproduce copyrighted stories in full or in large parts without permission.","Present generated stories as the work of a named author.","Submit a story written by the agent as a person's own work in contests or courses that forbid it."],"requiresHuman":["Submitting or publishing a story under a person's name."]},"ethics":{"considerations":["Writers depend on rights and credit; short fiction earns little and is easy to copy.","Stories can stereotype or wound; context and care matter in recommending them."],"affectedParties":["Authors and translators","Readers","Editors and magazines"]},"owners":{"steward":"The author or rights holder; publishers hold licences to publish.","roles":[],"masterSystems":[]},"relations":[{"target":"Q1053765","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"},{"target":"Q116518880","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"},{"target":"Q3328821","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"},{"target":"Q87482979","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"},{"target":"short prose","type":"related","note":"in registry terms"},{"target":"narration","type":"related","note":"in registry terms"},{"target":"novel","type":"related","note":"by length and scope"},{"target":"novella","type":"related","note":"an intermediate form"}],"interaction":{"identity":{"applicability":"required","items":["Vercy registry: vr.tr.short-story","Wikidata: Q49084 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q49084)"]},"properties":{"applicability":"not-applicable","items":["typical length: about 1000-10000 words - varies by definition"]},"recognition":{"applicability":"optional","items":["Short prose fiction with unity of effect","Published in magazines, collections and anthologies","Novellas are longer; flash fiction shorter; tales and anecdotes are older forms","Not a physical object; a prose text of a few to several dozen pages."]},"capabilities":{"applicability":"required","items":["explain the form and its features","distinguish from related forms","relay history and theory with attribution","route to specific genres and authors"]},"hazards":{"applicability":"required","items":["Blurred boundaries with novella and flash fiction","Eurocentric histories","Confusing thematic categories with the form"]},"interfaces":{"applicability":"required","items":["No regulation; copyright and publishing contracts","Prize eligibility rules defining length"]},"context":{"applicability":"required","items":["Concise narrative fiction.","literary short stories","genre short stories such as science fiction, crime and horror","LGBTQ, erotic and other thematic categories","short stories by specific authors such as Karl May and Fujiko F. Fujio","traditional forms such as the hikayah","novellas and flash fiction as neighbouring forms"]}},"sources":[{"title":"Wikidata item Q49084: short story","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q49084","note":"identity and sense of the item"},{"title":"Wikipedia: Short story","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Short_story","note":"general description of the item"}],"openQuestions":["Should novella and flash fiction be separate entries?","How should anthologies and prizes be linked?","The registry entry has merged aliases naming authors and thematic categories; should they be split off?"],"resources":{"spec":"/models/things/publications/thing-q49084/spec.json"},"provenance":{"origin":"thing registry research (pass 2)","builtFrom":["models/things/publications/thing-q49084/spec.json"],"providers":["Claude"],"researchStatus":"unreviewed","generatedAt":"2026-09-12T23:13:44Z","builder":"tools/build_cards.py@1.0.0"},"completeness":{"sections":{"classifiers":"filled","whatItIs":"filled","purpose":"filled","distinguishingFeatures":"filled","structure":"filled","agentConduct":"filled","ethics":"filled","owners":"filled","relations":"filled","interaction.identity":"filled","interaction.properties":"not-applicable","interaction.recognition":"filled","interaction.capabilities":"filled","interaction.hazards":"filled","interaction.interfaces":"filled","interaction.context":"filled","sources":"filled"},"notes":{"_gate":"Published through the thing publication gate 1.0 on 2026-10-07T10:10:31+00:00: completeness 1.00; sense: Wikidata description; 2 live sources; review by codex: pass","interaction.properties":"Plane INF: no invented physical properties."},"score":1.0}}