Welcome to another installment of Writing Myths Monday. I hope this Monday morning finds you well. Let’s jump into this week’s myth.
Writing Myth #13 – Longer is better
It’s not the word count that makes the story. It’s the story that makes the story. Don’t get pulled into the trap of this myth. Write the story that needs to be written. When you feel the story is done, it’s done. You don’t want to add unneeded words just to make the story longer. Think about a book you’ve read that you’ve skimmed over pages or paragraphs until you got back to the story. Those were unneeded words, all though those words may have been beautifully written, they lend nothing to moving the story forward.
With that said, there are standard lengths for different stories. These are guidelines and not hard and fast “rules”. Here is a breakdown as a reference.
Chapter Book 1,000 – 10,000
Middle Grade 20,000 – 50,000
Young Adult (YA) 40,000 – 70,000
Novella 10,000 – 40,000
Novel 40,000 plus
Epic 110,00 plus
Flash Fiction 500 words or less
Short Story 5,000 – 10,000
Knowing this information will help you classify the story you’ve written.
Until next time, be happy, stay safe, and good writing vibes into the universe.
As always, please follow me on Instagram @beinglaurakmarshall , for the fun of it.
The Big Book of Writing Exercises, Prompts, and Blockbusters is Coming Soon – stay tuned for release details.
being laura k marshall 