The genre was invented after the 16th century in England, as a result of increasing public interest in realistic depictions of "exotic" locales.
[1] In the nineteenth century, sketch stories were frequently published in magazines, before falling out of favor.
Writers from Sherwood Anderson to John Updike used this form, often as a hybrid.
[2] Short stories of extreme brevity still exist under the names flash fiction or microfiction.
[4] I thought the short story was a lazy man's game, second to 'free' verse, compared with the sketch.