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Does Size Really Matter?

Valkyrie

Entry posted by Valkyrie in Anthology Development

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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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Aditus
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I think my shortest anthology story was a little over 1k, the longest around 9k. I tend to write shorter stories, less words means less room for mistakes which is a very important aspect for someone who doesn't write in his first language. Never stress your editor.

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northie
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My longest antho entry is 16.5k. Shortest, a little over 2k. Having first been famous for loooong stories, I now seem to have veered the other way and am now producing work in the 2-4k region. Partly, this is due to time constraints.

As for chapter lengths... I used to feel obligation to produce a certain amount of wordage per chapter. No longer. Nor am I now particularly convinced by a need or convention for consistency.  How much of that is driven by the mentality that your readers only have 20 minutes at a time to spare for reading, therefore you must make your chapters fit? Doubtless, there are arenas in which this is a consideration. But I've also read plenty of (commercially produced) books where the author couldn't give a toss. My current book has chapters ranging from 8 mins to 48. (I listen.)

In my current (non-antho) writing, I'm letting the chapters fall as fits the story without worrying about how I'm going to post on GA. 🤨 Maybe I'll regret this later. We'll see. 😄

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Headstall

One story I submitted to this anthology is almost 16,000 words. Is it allowed, by anthology rules, to divide it into chapters? I vaguely remember it was a couple or three years back, but I see nothing about it in the submission guidelines.

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northie
3 hours ago, Headstall said:

Is it allowed, by anthology rules, to divide it into chapters?

In my experience, Gary, this has happened only spasmodically. It gets offered and then the amount of extra work it causes, means it doesn't get offered subsequently.

@Valkyrie or @Cia are the final arbiters. Or try asking the question in the Antho question thread.

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Cia
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4 hours ago, Headstall said:

One story I submitted to this anthology is almost 16,000 words. Is it allowed, by anthology rules, to divide it into chapters? I vaguely remember it was a couple or three years back, but I see nothing about it in the submission guidelines.

Yes, you can have chapters but we prefer as few as possible. 

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Headstall
19 minutes ago, northie said:

In my experience, Gary, this has happened only spasmodically. It gets offered and then the amount of extra work it causes, means it doesn't get offered subsequently.

@Valkyrie or @Cia are the final arbiters. Or try asking the question in the Antho question thread.

Thanks, northie. I was just wondering. I'm fine with posting it in its entirety. "Finding Refuge", an anthology submission, was over 13,000 words, and people did read it. :) 

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Valkyrie
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13 hours ago, Aditus said:

I think my shortest anthology story was a little over 1k, the longest around 9k. I tend to write shorter stories, less words means less room for mistakes which is a very important aspect for someone who doesn't write in his first language. Never stress your editor.

You write better in your second language than a lot of people do in their first ;)  Me, stressed?  :whistle: 

stressed bill murray GIF

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Valkyrie
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4 hours ago, Headstall said:

One story I submitted to this anthology is almost 16,000 words. Is it allowed, by anthology rules, to divide it into chapters? I vaguely remember it was a couple or three years back, but I see nothing about it in the submission guidelines.

We'll be updating the submission guidelines due to a few things that have come up this time around. I'll add this to my list of items to discuss and add.  

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W_L

Really depends like you said @Valkyrie

I've done both types of writing. To me, it comes down to how the story needs to flow from one point to another and what you want to establish in the plot. My anniversary entry is shorter than the entry I did for the Holiday Anthology last year, it felt right to be more minimal and natural.

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kbois

kbois 114,722

Posted (edited)

One of the things I've discovered as I evolve in my writing style is that I'm pretty comfortable doing chapters in the 4-5k range. That being said, I also like to challenge myself. I wrote two back to back stories where I kept the chapters in 5k territory. 

My biggest challenge so far was last year's flash fiction. Limiting a story word count to 1k is really hard when you're used to being able to ramble on. It was a fun learning experience and it turned out well. It's one of my favorites. 

Overall, it's whatever you're comfortable with. 

Edited by kbois
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Krista

Krista 14,141

Posted (edited)

I aim for between 5k - 6k. if I feel something is going on too long, I split it. Although, I have written variations a lot, some of my chapters hit the 10 - 20k range, but those are far between. Word count only really bothers me if I feel the chapter I'm writing isn't flowing, and I've dived in and I've written 5k words or my typical chapter length and I'm still trying to get my point across. I usually DNF the chapter and start over, I've learned that sometimes that's the best option, you can pull from the 'good' ideas, you may just have to set up or write the scene differently. I used to stand firmly by what I put to paper originally, now I'm like... "What the hell are you doing Krista..." and cringe then create a new document. :P 

I am the type of person that cannot write an Anthology on the lower end of the word count, I have to be around the 10 - 15k+ range for me to feel comfortable with what I'm writing.

eehhh it's the 19th, I don't think I can pull it off, I've not started my idea yet. :D 

Edited by Krista
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