I've been giving some thought to how writers choose the word count of their stories. Or does it choose them? How important is it to have a target length in mind at the outset? While mulling this over, I found myself reviewing the guidelines of this most basic tool.
First off, there are various guidelines that vary by genre, but basically:
Short story: 1,000 to 7,500
Novella: 17,000 to 40,000
Novel: 70,000 to 100,000
Yes, you may notice these ranges have gaps. I noticed that too. Hmm. What about 50,000 words? Maybe the numbers are wrong? What is the source? Well, the thing is, there isn't one source. Not anymore. If you search for it, you will probably find a chart that says something different -- or one you like better! The rules have changed, or at least blurred, over time. Maybe, as we go forward, the most accurate we can be is to say "anything over 40,000 words is considered a novel." Maybe. Or, on the flipside, there is even more definition. This is actually how the website Owlcation.com breaks it down (with no gaps):
Ok, this sooths my need for a categorical breakdown! It does break down those shorter ranges. But it also supports the broad range of longer works, bringing us back to "anything over 40,000 words is considered a novel."
Whew. We've come full circle to a very loose number - at least for a novel. Does it matter? Well, I think it is helpful to work through the numbers for a general idea of expectations, but I'll leave that up to you. What does matter is arriving at that target to shoot for, whether it is defined by a publisher's guideline or by you. But I still haven't decided if we, as writers, have a sweet spot for length. Maybe. Or does the story decide?
It's likely a combination of both, but I think there must be a heavy dose of instinct. Amazingly, even with so many of the variables yet to be pulled from the universe, I think you can and do know how long your story will be from the onset. Yes, really. You know the target from a framework of your intentions. Now that's not to say you're not going to second guess yourself along the road, and it's tempting to discount it because it came to you pretty easily. But think carefully before you move your goalpost. I'll get to more about that in a minute.
First,what is in this framework I mentioned? Well, it's more numbers. Consider your own numbers from the history of your stories' word counts. Do they match up with what you intended? I'm guessing they roughly do, but even if they didn't, it's an interesting exercise to consider why they did or did not. What does this tell you about your sweet spot for length? This is what I find:
My last novel had a target of 80,000 words. I arrived at this after my previous novels were, respectively, about 90,000 words, 70,000 words, and 50,000 words.
Yep, they got shorter until I leaned back into a longer target. (I also have a very long non-fiction work, but that's a whole other animal!) In hindsight, I do feel like the shortest novel was a bit too short. However, I stand by that pre-determined target. I intended it to be shorter. This was a novel in the midst of a series and I purposefully left loose ends. In fact, I thought the romance of the central couple might continue into several stories. In this respect, my future intentions influenced my prediction of the target length of this book and, for that matter, also the next. I did feel the tug of second guessing the target I set, but I held firm.
The only problem was my plans -- the framework of my intentions -- changed. I didn't want to write the next, shorter novels. Instead, the next novel would be the final in the series and it would take longer than I thought. (Four years, but who's counting.) Anyway, to make a long story short, loose plot ends were one thing to tie off, but to give the romantic leads in one book a relationship resolution as a secondary couple in another book was more difficult. Not impossible, but difficult. Should I have listened back then to the tug of second guessing? Was I just too stubborn to move a goalpost? Perhaps. Or maybe it turned out as it was meant to be.
The choice is ours -- we can either embrace the bullseye of a target to be exactly 80,000 or shoot to be an exception above or below. There will always be exceptions, above and below this target. Need examples? Yes, I have more numbers.
Twilight, for instance, is a novel above this baseline target at about 118,000 words. This is an exception to the rule, but I think, whether consciously declared or not, it fit in the author's framework of intentions. Some genres can do that. Fantasy and science fiction can do that. More on this is explained in the Writer's Digest post Word Count for Novels and Children's Books: The Definitive Post.
And then there is the trend of eBooks and non-traditional publishing that have many examples that make a strong argument for shorter word counts that may well be your "sweet spot." If you balk at calling your 50,000 word story a novella, you are not alone. In fact, you may be in the majority if your book length falls in that gap between the ranges given for a novel or a novella.
Other exceptions, I would argue, are whether your book is in a category of, well, appropriate enough, category romance. In this case, the word count requirements are generally a bit shorter and very specific to each line with a range from 50,000 to 75,000. In this case, don't take my word for it, go here to the Harlequin Submission page to see exactly what is required. (As a side note, this, in fact, is my current challenge. I intend to write a Harlequin Presents. Amongst other things, it goes against what I "think" may be my sweet spot for word length.)
All of this goes into your framework of intent. Once you have it, you have a word count target.
Then the work begins. So, you know where you want to end up, but what about progress? Word count does seem most useful. It is a number and an unambiguous target. You can say, presumably with confidence, that you are a quarter of the way or half way done. Only somehow, it doesn't work that way. A funny thing always happens. Always.
Short story: 1,000 to 7,500
Novella: 17,000 to 40,000
Novel: 70,000 to 100,000
Yes, you may notice these ranges have gaps. I noticed that too. Hmm. What about 50,000 words? Maybe the numbers are wrong? What is the source? Well, the thing is, there isn't one source. Not anymore. If you search for it, you will probably find a chart that says something different -- or one you like better! The rules have changed, or at least blurred, over time. Maybe, as we go forward, the most accurate we can be is to say "anything over 40,000 words is considered a novel." Maybe. Or, on the flipside, there is even more definition. This is actually how the website Owlcation.com breaks it down (with no gaps):
Flash Fiction: 53 - 1,000 words
Short Stories: 3,500 - 7,500
Novellettes: 7,500 - 17,000
Novellas: 17,000 - 40,000
Novels: 40,000 + words
Ok, this sooths my need for a categorical breakdown! It does break down those shorter ranges. But it also supports the broad range of longer works, bringing us back to "anything over 40,000 words is considered a novel."
Whew. We've come full circle to a very loose number - at least for a novel. Does it matter? Well, I think it is helpful to work through the numbers for a general idea of expectations, but I'll leave that up to you. What does matter is arriving at that target to shoot for, whether it is defined by a publisher's guideline or by you. But I still haven't decided if we, as writers, have a sweet spot for length. Maybe. Or does the story decide?
It's likely a combination of both, but I think there must be a heavy dose of instinct. Amazingly, even with so many of the variables yet to be pulled from the universe, I think you can and do know how long your story will be from the onset. Yes, really. You know the target from a framework of your intentions. Now that's not to say you're not going to second guess yourself along the road, and it's tempting to discount it because it came to you pretty easily. But think carefully before you move your goalpost. I'll get to more about that in a minute.
First,what is in this framework I mentioned? Well, it's more numbers. Consider your own numbers from the history of your stories' word counts. Do they match up with what you intended? I'm guessing they roughly do, but even if they didn't, it's an interesting exercise to consider why they did or did not. What does this tell you about your sweet spot for length? This is what I find:
My last novel had a target of 80,000 words. I arrived at this after my previous novels were, respectively, about 90,000 words, 70,000 words, and 50,000 words.
Yep, they got shorter until I leaned back into a longer target. (I also have a very long non-fiction work, but that's a whole other animal!) In hindsight, I do feel like the shortest novel was a bit too short. However, I stand by that pre-determined target. I intended it to be shorter. This was a novel in the midst of a series and I purposefully left loose ends. In fact, I thought the romance of the central couple might continue into several stories. In this respect, my future intentions influenced my prediction of the target length of this book and, for that matter, also the next. I did feel the tug of second guessing the target I set, but I held firm.
The only problem was my plans -- the framework of my intentions -- changed. I didn't want to write the next, shorter novels. Instead, the next novel would be the final in the series and it would take longer than I thought. (Four years, but who's counting.) Anyway, to make a long story short, loose plot ends were one thing to tie off, but to give the romantic leads in one book a relationship resolution as a secondary couple in another book was more difficult. Not impossible, but difficult. Should I have listened back then to the tug of second guessing? Was I just too stubborn to move a goalpost? Perhaps. Or maybe it turned out as it was meant to be.
The choice is ours -- we can either embrace the bullseye of a target to be exactly 80,000 or shoot to be an exception above or below. There will always be exceptions, above and below this target. Need examples? Yes, I have more numbers.
Twilight, for instance, is a novel above this baseline target at about 118,000 words. This is an exception to the rule, but I think, whether consciously declared or not, it fit in the author's framework of intentions. Some genres can do that. Fantasy and science fiction can do that. More on this is explained in the Writer's Digest post Word Count for Novels and Children's Books: The Definitive Post.
And then there is the trend of eBooks and non-traditional publishing that have many examples that make a strong argument for shorter word counts that may well be your "sweet spot." If you balk at calling your 50,000 word story a novella, you are not alone. In fact, you may be in the majority if your book length falls in that gap between the ranges given for a novel or a novella.
Other exceptions, I would argue, are whether your book is in a category of, well, appropriate enough, category romance. In this case, the word count requirements are generally a bit shorter and very specific to each line with a range from 50,000 to 75,000. In this case, don't take my word for it, go here to the Harlequin Submission page to see exactly what is required. (As a side note, this, in fact, is my current challenge. I intend to write a Harlequin Presents. Amongst other things, it goes against what I "think" may be my sweet spot for word length.)
All of this goes into your framework of intent. Once you have it, you have a word count target.
Then the work begins. So, you know where you want to end up, but what about progress? Word count does seem most useful. It is a number and an unambiguous target. You can say, presumably with confidence, that you are a quarter of the way or half way done. Only somehow, it doesn't work that way. A funny thing always happens. Always.
My novels always feel much closer to completion at much lower word counts.
At about the 25,000 word mark, in some alternate universe, it is, in fact, finished. In my dreams. Yeah, that's about it. If only the technology were advanced enough to beam my perfect dream to others. If only. That's a tough spot to be in where nothing can match your imagined story. It takes a lot of words to fill in the blanks and it's different than the "dreaded middle" we've heard about where the story stalls out. There isn't a stall. It's finished. Yeah, yeah, in my dreams.
Eventually, even if each one is a struggle, real words fill in the blanks and get moved around and tweaked until they fall into place. Round after round of layering will eventually raise the word count. It is possible for the imagined to be captured.
And that brings me to milestones. I've always been very confused on defining my writing stages; rough drafts, first drafts or however many drafts, and at what point you're in revision. I think final revision I'm a little more clear on, but barely. The only thing I find concrete is word count. I know that at 25,000 words I have a long ways to go, but I have gone too far to stop. The rest will come. I will get to a target I set from the beginning.
Do you have a sweet spot for word count length? Do you stick with it?
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