On short stories length, how many words?

Hello, lovelies!

I did some investigating on short stories’ length and such, so you don’t have to. This is what I found out.

I will start right over because… there was no big reason behind this, I was curious. 😀

How many words is too many words for a short story?

Well, it seems, for a short story, the typical word count ranges from 1,000 to 7,500 words. (Or so I saw online). However, most publications and competitions prefer short stories to be between 3,000 and 5,000 words.

Now, going significantly beyond 7,500 words may push the story into the realm of a novelette (7,500 to 17,500 words) or a novella (17,500 to 40,000 words).

Around how many pages is 5000 words?

I wanted to know, but the number of pages for 5,000 words can vary based on factors like font type, font size, spacing, and margins. But let’s say, that you are working with a normal template like standard formatting (Times New Roman, 12-point font, double-spaced, with 1-inch margins), in those cases, 5,000 words would be around 20 pages, but I haven’t tested it lately, if you have let me know.

But let’s move on, I did want to check what terror and romance would be like in terms of words; these questions came up.

If the story is a horror one is a 1000 words too short?

And, guess what? If it is 1,000 words, for a horror story, then it is not too short, but it would be considered perhaps as a flash fiction tale. Flash fiction, including horror, can be very effective at creating tension and delivering a powerful impact in a concise format.

And the key for this is to focus on a single, intense moment or a tightly contained plot to maximise the impact within the limited word count, but again, you could add more words or fewer and go with your gut, it’s your world that you are putting on the pages.

How about if it were a romance novel?

Finally, the romance world, and a 1,000-word romance story can also work well, but it will need to be tightly focused, what is that? There are four pages stories and 10 pages stories, too, in romance, and with erotica in it, just focusing on the act and the facts of the two (or more) characters entering the scene and expressing it all in a flash way.

But, if you’d like a bit more detail, then flash fiction in the romance genre often centres on a pivotal moment or a snapshot of a relationship. The key is to convey emotional depth and character connection succinctly, which can be challenging but very rewarding when done effectively.

What do you think, lovelies? Are you ready to write a new short story? I do feel like trying, and perhaps add it to Wattpad? That’s a thought, I do have an account there, but I haven’t uploaded any stories, yet.

That’s it for now, if you’d like more tips like this one, let me know in the comments. Don’t forget to follow the blog for more and for news on my books.

🙂