Rough Length Guidelines (Word Counts are Approximations):
* Microfiction/Flash Fiction: Under 1,000 words, often much shorter (even under 100 words). Focuses on brevity and impact.
* Short Story: Typically 1,000-7,500 words. A self-contained narrative with a beginning, middle, and end.
* Novelette: 7,500-17,500 words. Longer than a short story, but shorter than a novel. Often a more developed plot than a short story.
* Novella: 17,500-40,000 words. A longer, more complex narrative than a novelette, but still shorter than a novel.
* Novel: 40,000 words and above. A long-form narrative with a complex plot, multiple characters, and subplots. This is the most common length for mainstream fiction.
* Epic/Long Novel: Often considered to be over 100,000 words.
Beyond Fiction:
These classifications also apply, in a less rigid way, to non-fiction works:
* Essay: Varies greatly in length, from a few hundred words to several thousand. Typically focuses on a specific topic or argument.
* Article: Similar to an essay in length and purpose, often found in periodicals.
* Book/Monograph: Typically several tens of thousands of words or more. A comprehensive treatment of a topic.
Important Considerations:
* Genre: Genre conventions can influence length expectations. For example, a romance novel might be longer than a thriller novel.
* Publisher Guidelines: Publishers often have specific word count requirements for different types of submissions.
* Flexibility: These are guidelines, not strict rules. There is overlap and variation, and some works might not fit neatly into a category.
In summary, while these word count ranges offer a helpful guideline, the specific categorization of a piece of writing often depends on context and the subjective judgment of the reader or publisher.