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and thereby create his own meaning. Knowing that these hallmarks of microfiction are not also
hallmarks of poorly written fiction but have a genuine purpose allows a reader to enjoy the
opportunities the author has built into the story. To fully appreciate this new-found knowledge,
this paper will apply Nelles’ previously listed hallmarks to three microfiction stories. All of the
stories are exactly 300 words long or less, so they all fulfill the length requirement. However,
none of the stories will contain all of the hallmarks. That does not disqualify these texts from
resting within the microfiction genre. It only means these pieces are unique texts in an even more
unique genre.

The first story is a piece by Lydia Davis called “The Outing”:
An outburst of anger near the road, a refusal to speak on the path, a silence in the pine
woods, a silence across the old railroad bridge, an attempt to be friendly in the water, a
refusal to end the argument on the flat stones, a cry of anger on the steep bank of dirt, a
weeping among the bushes.
Noticing the immediate details in any microfiction story helps illuminate the meaning. In “The
Outing”, the emotions of the main character are front and center. The reader is not privy to the
protagonist’s identity, but the focus is on the progression and resolution of the emotions. The
inciting incident, whatever it is, is enough to create anger. This anger leads into silence. Davis
uses the word “silence” twice in close succession, emphasizing the hurt party’s resolution to shut
off and shut out the offending party. The word “refusal” is also repeated, but one occurrence is at
the beginning of the story and the other is at the end. Finally, the story ends with someone
weeping. Although “The Outing” is missing traditional details, it relies on the strength of the
emotions each word evokes to carry the reader along toward the end.

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