Like bonsai, this style of writing is often defined by what's left out. Word limits, time limits, decisions of craft force the writer to suggest, imply, and omit. These spaces between the lines invite readers to participate, to fill in omitted details with their own imagination and intuition. In this way the experience of the characters becomes their own, one of the secrets to the extraordinary power of this enigmatic form. The pace is brisk, the language precise and strong. As close cousins of poetry, not-so-long stories share the challenge of expressing more with less. They can provide a moment of illumination, a glimpse of the bone. And like a good poem, they can linger and move us in surprising, astonishing ways.