A Structured Look at Stories
Finding the right length for a story is crucial for determining pacing. Stories can be anywhere from a few words to several thousands. It’s helpful to know these types as how they’re written and what they emphasize changes within each. There’s a myriad of names, but here are the ones that I believe are most common.
Flash Fiction: Generally 500 words or less. This requires hitting an event right at its peak, leaving little space for set-up.
Tips for Flash Fiction Writing:
Maria Haskin - https://sfwa.org/2022/03/15/10-tips-flash-fiction/
Sean Glatch - https://writers.com/how-to-write-flash-fiction - a more detailed breakdown into types of flash fiction and extends upwards to 1,500 words.
Short Story: Typically 1,000 to 7,500 words. More space to develop some background and possibly different characters. Still need succinctness to use space effectively. Often authors might start out by submitting short stories to competitions, magazines, or anthology collections.
Tips for Short Stories:
Rosemary Tantra Bensko - https://writers.com/how-to-write-a-short-story
Novella: Around 17,500 to 40,000 words. Nowadays you might see authors write novellas as add-ons to their main series. tor.com also requested novellas widely, creating some quick fiction series with authors like Nghi Vo and Martha Wells.
Tips for Novellas:
Novel: Average length between 80,000 and 120,000 words. More complex, can juggle multiple plots and characters/POVs.
Tips for Novels:
Josephine Campbell - https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/literature-and-writing/novels
Writer’s Digest - https://writersdigestshop.com/pages/how-to-write-a-novel