Flash fiction is a brief fictional narrative that still offers character and plot development. Identified varieties, many of them defined by word count, include the six-word story; the 280-character story (also known as "twitterature"); the "dribble" (also known as the "minisaga", 50 words); the "drabble" (also known as "microfiction", 100 words); "sudden fiction" (up to 750 words); "flash fiction" (up to 1,000 words); and "microstory".

Some commentators have suggested that flash fiction possesses a unique literary quality in its ability to hint at or imply a larger story.

Flash fiction has roots going back to prehistory, recorded at origin of writing, including fables and parables, notably Aesop's Fables in the west, and Panchatantra and Jataka tales in India. Later examples include the tales of Nasreddin, and Zen koans such as The Gateless Gate.

In the United States, early forms of flash fiction can be found in the 19th century, notably in the figures of Walt Whitman, Ambrose Bierce, and Kate Chopin.

In the 1920s, flash fiction was referred to as the "short short story" and was associated with Cosmopolitan magazine, and in the 1930s, collected in anthologies such as The American Short Short Story.

Somerset Maugham was a notable proponent, with his Cosmopolitans: Very Short Stories (1936) being an early collection.

In Japan, flash fiction was popularized in the post-war period particularly by Michio Tsuzuki (都筑道夫).

In 1986, Jerome Stern at the Florida State University organized the World's Best Short-Short Story Contest for stories of fewer than 250 words. Michael Martone, the first winner, received $100 and a crate of Florida oranges as the prize. The Southeast Review continues the contest but has increased the maximum to 500 words. In 1996, Stern published Micro Fiction: an anthology of really short stories drawn, in part, from the contest.