Writing Lessons & Advice: Word Count for Stories

A well-rounded story has characters, plot, setting, and theme. Without these, a story falls flat. Additionally, a story can be defined by many of these elements. The plot can have up to seven unique structures that identify how development pans out. While theme, characters, setting, and content help distinguish the literary genre of your story. There is one more quality to consider: word count.

A story’s word count is something of a technical feature. A MasterClass guide on the topic notes that meeting a certain word count benefits marketability in traditional publishing. Longer stories mean higher expenses to print. Also, reading audiences just have expectations of certain word counts or feel certain lengths are more accessible than others.

Here are some genres or story classifications and ballpark numbers for them:

Novels- 40,000 or 50,000 minimum; 100,000 maximum
Novellas- 17,500 – 40,000 words
Novelettes- 7,700 – 17,500 words
Short stories- 5,000 to 10,000 words
Flash fiction- 500 words or less
Children’s- depends on intended age/audience:
- For teens/YA- 40,000 to 80,000 words
- For “middle-grade” (eight to twelve years old)- 20,000 and 50,000 words
- Seven to eight years old- 1,000 to 10,000 words
- Picture books or four to eight years old- 500 to 600 words
Thrillers- 70,000 and 90,000 words
Sci-fi and fantasy- 90,000 to 120,000 words

Again, these numbers are mainly for marketing purposes. Do not sweat over them if you are a beginning writer or in the early stages of a writing project. If you’re not writing for a publishing entity, your primary focus should be on fleshing out your basic story elements (plot, characters, setting, theme) and growing your writing skills. Meeting the word count will come with dedication, experience, and content development.

Hope this gives you some new perspective on your writing and reading! If you haven’t already, check out the lessons on story elements, plot, and genre to learn about the other ingredients that make up a story. If you’re stuck or need a starting point, try some of my tips for curing writer’s block. If you are ready for the challenge of writing a novel, check out the "National Novel Writing Month" lesson!