Jun 07 2008
How Many Words Make A Story
I had someone ask me what the difference between a story and a novel was, the other day. It made me wonder how many others had the same thoughts. I guess I take it for granted that not all bloggers know much about the writing industry. Since I’ve spent most of my years online in the writing community, I forget that it’s just one small neighborhood of the Internet.
So, here’s my take on the whole thing. First of all, if your story has a beginning, a middle, and an ending, it’s a story. Now, the rest depends on the number of words your story holds. If your story has several thousand words, it’s more than likely a novel or at least a novella. If your has only a few hundred words, or just a couple thousand words, it’s more than likely considered a short story, or “flash fiction”.
What constitutes flash fiction usually depends on the publisher. Some sites want flash fiction of no more than 800 words, some as much 5,000. It all depends. When I joined in the NaNoWriMo challenge this past November, they considered 50,000 words to be a novel. And I’ll tell you this, 50,000 words is a lot more than it sounds like.
Anyway, a story is a story, no matter how many words it contains. A good story doesn’t necessarily have to span 800 pages and run in the tens of thousands of words. I’ve read some stories with as little as 500 words, that were fun to read. My advice is to write the story first, and worry about the particulars later.
I’ve seen some sites asking for 55 word stories. I’ve never been able to write that short. I’ve written some about 100 words long though.
Gina
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I enjoy reading your blog but today reality hit me about the 50,000 words. I have to write 100- 1000 word articles and now I think I have lost my mind saying I would do that.
Don’t you even sweat it. Think of it this way, your typical paragraph runs roughly 50 words, give or take a few.
You can do it. If I can do it, I know you can do it. Don’t let the word count scare you. Remember, you’re in control, not the words.
I have faith in you. You CAN do this.
@ Gina–I’ve never seen them that short, but it doesn’t surprise me. I can’t write that short either. Mine usually end up between 250 and 500 words. Not because I try to get them there, that’s just how it turns out. LOL
I participated in NaNoWriMo also, and I totally agree - 50,000 is nothing to blink your eyes at. It’s ALOT!
My step daughter (age 11) participated in the kids version and she aimed for 10,000 words which in and of itself at that age is QUITE hard. And her story, while in need of major editing, is actually really GOOD!
I have enjoyed your blog. Oh, and I suck at very short stories of about 800 words or less (reminds me of essays in school) and I cannot for the possibly tell my story (any story) in that few of words. LOL I guess I am just wordy. I keep trying though.
Thanks for a great article!
I think it’s awesome that you step-daughter joined in as well. That’s a lot of words for an 11 yr. old to write. I’m so proud of her.
As far as the number of words, I know a lot of writers who find it hard to write flash fiction. It’s ok to be “wordy”. There have been a lot of times that I wished I could make my stories longer, but when I try, they end up sounding “worked”.
Be proud of the fact that you’re “wordy”. It’s the diversity in our styles and lengths that make the fiction world go round.
Though I’m a writer at heart, I don’t think I every pay attention to things like word count. I tell a story until it’s finished being told. Hmmm…
Good post!
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