Does Size Really Matter?
A couple of questions that come up for discussion frequently here are “How long should I make my chapters?” and “How long should my story be?”. The truth is, there is no right answer. My response would be, “Long enough to tell what you want to tell.” It’s a bit of a glib response, but I’m going to go more in-depth in this blog post.
In terms of the anthology, there is a right answer. It needs to be between 1,000 and 25,000 words. So how do you decide if your story is going to be a 1k short or a 25k novella? I would say a lot of that decision comes down to personal preference and writing style. Some writers have difficulty constraining themselves to only 25k words, while others are quite comfortable in the 4-6k range. A 1k word story needs to pack a punch and have every word count, since the story is being told is so short. Short doesn’t mean bad or unfinished—I’ve read some phenomenal flash fiction pieces in the 1k range—so don’t skip reading those stories because of the low word count. Those 1k stories are a great way to work on descriptive writing and character sketches.
Conversely, if you’re going to write 25k words, make sure what’s going on the page is relevant and interesting. Is every scene necessary to the story, or are there infodumps and scenes that don’t move the story forward? Not every reader likes reading stories that long in one go, so something to consider is breaking up a story that length into chapters. While it helps keep the reader engaged, it’s certainly not a requirement. Good writing itself keeps the reader engaged, regardless of story or chapter length. So, readers, don’t be intimidated by the lengthy word count. You might find yourself sucked right into the story and reach the end before you remember you just read 25k words.
Now back to the first question “How long should I make my chapters?”. Again, there is no right answer or magic number when it comes to chapter length. It needs to be long enough to accomplish what you want for that particular point in the story, whether it’s 2k, 4k, 6k, etc. It’s a good idea to try and be consistent with chapter length, but that doesn’t mean it’s not ok to have some variation. Personally, I like chapters in the 2-4k word range, but that doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate a longer, well-written chapter, especially if it’s at crucial point in the story.
So, how does all this relate to the anthology? Write to your strengths and personal style. Don’t worry about the word count as much as telling a good story. The word count only matters if it’s below 1k or above 25k. There is still plenty of time to write a short story and get it sent to the proof team. We are very close to making our twenty story goal, but that doesn’t mean we have to stop there! Over twenty would be icing on the cake!
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