Basic Writing Terms: Story Formats
There are a lot of different formats for telling your story, mostly divided by length. Different stories are going to suit different formats, depending on the amount of conflict and the amount of time needed to develop the narrative.
These aren’t strict divisions, but they’re a good rule of thumb for when you’re thinking about how to structure your narrative.
This post is mostly a guide to what I mean when I mention these terms, rather than a strict rule – many publications have their own guidelines for what they consider as fitting these different formats, which can vary a great deal.
Flash Fiction/ Micro-fiction: <1000 words. Often concerned with a character portrait or setting a mood, rather than being plot heavy. Intended to be read in a single sitting.
Short Story: <15,000 words. A short story can be as simple or as complex as you like, it is a diverse format and very good for experimental works. Intended to be read in as single sitting.
Novelette: 10,000-20,000 words. Longer than most short stories, the novelette is a rare format, usually subsumed by either short story or …
Novella: 15,000-50,000 words. Often structured like a novel, but shorter. Novellas may be divided into chapters or sections. Often intended to be read in as single sitting, novellas have more room for complex conflicts than short stories, but less than novels.
Novel: 50,000 words+. Large plots, lots of conflict, and the word count can go as high as you can keep writing.
