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Lemurion · 01-02-2011, 01:43 PM

Lately I've been seeing a lot of so-called "short stories" cross my desk that are about 8,000 words. I've also been sending most of them back for rewrites with the instruction that they need to be shorter.

Personally I use the SFWA (Science Fiction Writers of America) categories for length.
* Short Story: less than 7,500 words;
* Novelette: at least 7,500 words but less than 17,500 words;
* Novella: at least 17,500 words but less than 40,000 words
* Novel: 40,000 words or more.

It may not be a perfect categorization, but it works for me and it's what they use for the Nebulas.

My own characterization is that a short story is about a single idea: it focuses on one character, incident, or situation. There's no room for subplots, everything builds toward a unified conclusion.

The other way I think of it is that a short story is something I can hold completely in my mind at one time.

01-02-2011, 01:43 PM	#6
Lemurion eReader Posts: 2,750 Karma: 4968470 Join Date: Aug 2007 Device: Note 5; PW3; Nook HD+; ChuWi Hi12; iPad	Lately I've been seeing a lot of so-called "short stories" cross my desk that are about 8,000 words. I've also been sending most of them back for rewrites with the instruction that they need to be shorter. Personally I use the SFWA (Science Fiction Writers of America) categories for length. * Short Story: less than 7,500 words; * Novelette: at least 7,500 words but less than 17,500 words; * Novella: at least 17,500 words but less than 40,000 words * Novel: 40,000 words or more. It may not be a perfect categorization, but it works for me and it's what they use for the Nebulas. My own characterization is that a short story is about a single idea: it focuses on one character, incident, or situation. There's no room for subplots, everything builds toward a unified conclusion. The other way I think of it is that a short story is something I can hold completely in my mind at one time. Last edited by Lemurion; 01-02-2011 at 01:51 PM.