Here are the average story lengths for different mediums in narrative fiction. Note that these are guidelines, and with all things creative, rules are meant to be broken.
Flash Fiction: 1,000 words and under
“For sale: baby shoes, never worn.”
Flash fiction is a work of brevity and has been around since we started telling oral stories. This genre is all about trying to tell the story in as few words as possible, so continuous movement is vital. Every word has to count, or it doesn’t belong. Despite its short length, flash fiction still has character development and plot, and because of those elements, it can be extremely challenging and takes a lot of skill.
Flash fiction is often published in magazines, journals, and anthologies. Joyce Carol Oates and Ernest Hemingway are both famous authors of flash fiction.
Subcategories of flash fiction:
Six-word stories: anything with a single-digit word count
Dribble: 50 words
Drabble: 100 words
Microfiction: 350 words and under
Postcard fiction: around 250 words, but can be as long as 500 words (typically will fit on a postcard)
Sudden fiction: 750 up to 1,0000 words
Short Story: 1,000–7,500 words
A short story is a work that can be read in one sitting. It usually doesn’t focus so much on plot as it does on mood, setting, and theme, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have a plot. Some famous short story authors include Gabriel García Márquez, Edgar Allan Poe, and Stephen King to name a few.
Novella: 7,500–40,000 words
The novella started during the Italian Renaissance and solidified during the 18th and 19th centuries when it was better defined. The novella has all the qualities of a novel. However, it tends to have fewer conflicts because of the shorter space it has to resolve said conflicts.
Novellas are often anthologized. Novellas can be difficult to pitch to agents and publishers if you’re a new writer. This medium might be best suited for self-publishing, where there’s a larger and more flexible market. However, many established authors have published novellas. Stephen King, Ernest Hemingway, and John Steinbeck to name a few.
Novel: 40,000–110,000 words
The typical novel sweet spot is around 80,000 words. Once you hit the 110,000 mark, agents and publishers aren’t going to want to take the risk with new authors. If you’re self-published, however, it matters less, and you have much more flexibility and autonomy.
Epics: 110,000+ words
Science fiction and fantasy novels often go over 110,000 words, often due to the worldbuilding aspect. If you’re a new author, I wouldn’t go over 120,000 for science fiction or fantasy.
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