A story narrates fictitious events.
The word tale comes from the Latin term compŭtus , meaning “account” . The concept refers to a brief narration of imaginary events . Its specificity cannot be determined exactly, so the difference between a long story and a short novel is difficult to determine.
A story presents a small group of characters and a plot that is not too complex , since its characteristics include the economy of narrative resources.
Types of stories
It is possible to distinguish between two major types of stories: the popular story and the literary story .
Folk tales are usually associated with traditional narratives that are transmitted from generation to generation orally. There may be different versions of the same story, as there are stories that maintain a similar structure but with different details.
The literary tale, on the other hand, is associated with the modern tale . These are stories conceived by writing and transmitted in the same way. While most folk tales do not have a distinct author, the case of literary tales is different, since their creator is usually known.
Stories of yesterday and today
Among the first stories written in the Spanish language is “El Conde Lucanor” , a collection that was written by the Infante Don Juan Manuel between the years 1330 and 1335 .
One of the most important publishing houses dedicated to short stories is Páginas de Espuma . It was founded in 1999, under the direction of Juan Casamayor , and its headquarters are in Madrid. In addition to short story books, its other specialty is humanities essays . One of its most notable characteristics is the large number of authors from Latin America that it publishes, despite being a Spanish publishing house.
On the other hand, we have Ediciones Siruela , also Spanish, founded by Jacobo Siruela in 1982. It is under the direction of Ofelia Grande de Andrés. It has in its catalogue several of the most important writers of the short story, whom it publishes in its extensive list of collections, among which we can mention Nuevos Tiempos, Las Tres Edades, Biblioteca Lobo Antunes and Fuera de colección .
Short stories are shorter than novels.
Great short story writers
Short story writing is an art that many do not appreciate, incorrectly considering it to be below the creation of a novel or other genres that are more successful on the market. However, it is enough to approach this art with a little sensitivity to understand that it is a universe as magical and vast as any other. And this is due, needless to say, to the great talents behind it.
One of the most prominent short story writers of the late 20th century is Valeria Correa Fiz , born in the Argentine city of Rosario in 1971. Although her love of literature accompanied her since her childhood, she only became known in 2015. Her work has taken her to live in various parts of the world, such as Italy, the United States, and Spain, focusing on activities as varied as directing a reading club and teaching. Her books La existencia animal and El invierno a deshoras are worth highlighting.
We cannot fail to mention Andrés Neuman , born in Argentina and naturalized as a Spaniard. Art always played a leading role in his upbringing, as his mother was a violinist and his father, an oboist. Some of his most important works are El que espera and Hacerse el muerto .
On the other hand, the Royal Spanish Academy mentions that the word "story" can also be used to refer to the indiscreet story of an event, the narration of a false event or a deception . For example: "Pedro came with the story that he can't find a job."