How Long Should My Story Be?

A story should be as long as it needs to be, and not one word longer. A tiny idea stretched too far gets boring. A huge idea squashed too small feels rushed. The trick is matching the length to the size of your idea.

Four sizes of story

• Short (about 500–800 words): one character, one problem, one place. Perfect for a bedtime story or your very first book.
• Medium (about 1,000–1,500 words): room for a friend or a villain, a few scenes and a twist.
• Long (about 2,000–3,000 words): a bigger journey with several places, setbacks and surprises.
• Epic (about 5,000–10,000 words): chapters, a big cast and a world to explore. Save this for an idea you can't stop thinking about.

Count the problems

A quick way to choose: count how many things go wrong for your hero. One problem fits a short story. Two or three problems need a medium or long one. A whole chain of troubles, one after another, is an epic.