This paper will demonstrate that painting terms can offer a helpful avenue to understand short fiction, particularly abstract short fiction. After defining abstraction, realism, and the short story, it will trace relevant stages in the evolution of both painting and short fiction to show how and why the media share similar elements. In this examination, the paper will discuss which features of painting correspond with certain features of short fiction. Based on the essential elements of short fiction, as well as the features mentioned above, the paper will analyze examples of short stories that exemplify how painting parallels short fiction and how terminology drawn from that field can help illuminate abstract short stories
