There are various contenders for the title. But a commonly mentioned short one is 'The Last Man on Earth Sat Alone in a Room. A Knock Came on the Door.' It packs a punch in its brevity.
I think 'Looked in the mirror. Saw someone else.' qualifies as one of the shortest. It gives that sudden shock in a brief sentence.
It's tough to pin down one specific shortest novel. Different people and literary circles might have different opinions. Some might point to experimental or minimalist works that are extremely concise in their storytelling.
The shortest short story ever written could be something like 'For sale: baby shoes, never worn.' It's extremely concise but conveys a poignant situation.
A 'shortest short story' might typically have a simple plot. For example, it could just be about a single event like 'The man opened the door and saw a flower. He smiled.' It often has very few characters, perhaps just one or two. And it uses concise language to convey a basic idea or emotion.
The shortest horror story I know is 'The last man on Earth sat alone in a room. There was a knock on the door.'
The definition of the 'shortest novel' can be quite subjective. Different people might consider different works as the shortest. Some very concise novels might focus on a single intense moment or a simple plotline.
It can be just a few words. Some really short stories are like a single sentence or a very brief paragraph.
In general, a traditional biography is not fiction. However, there are some works that might be called 'fictionalized biographies.' These often take some liberties with the facts for the sake of storytelling or to fill in gaps in knowledge. But a pure biography should be nonfiction.
No, fiction is made up by the imagination of the author. It's not based on actual events or reality.
The shortest published novel can vary depending on different criteria. Some might be just a few pages, possibly exploring a simple yet profound idea in a concentrated way. It could be due to the author's intent to be highly concise and impactful.