They're often spoken of as two different literary forms, but there seems to be no widespread agreement about how short a short story needs to be. Where do you draw the line between them?
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They're often spoken of as two different literary forms, but there seems to be no widespread agreement about how short a short story needs to be. Where do you draw the line between them?
There are no ironclad standards AFAIK, but the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America use the following guidelines for their Nebula Awards:
Novel: Over 40,000 words
Novella: 17,500 to 40,000 words
Novelette: 7,500 to 17,500 words
Short story: Under 7,500 words
In addition to Calidore's def above. Short story: can be read at one sitting (under an hour); has very few characters; has one significant incident; covers a limited period of time within the narrative.
Personally I would say a short story can fit into a spineless book such as a magazine or pamphlet while a full-fledged novel is best enjoyed within a hardcover so that you can easily read it. I would say you could also describe a story as a "quarter novel" or a ""third novel" because it isn't short anymore but it cannot stand alone within a hard cover, but the terminologists aren't going to listen to me, so what Calidore said.
My standard for a novel is 80,000 words, minimum.
A short story makes a point about one significant idea--typically showing its implication. That is the only plot it really requires. Its brevity makes the idea and especially the implication more pointed. A novel is--well a novel. It's as different a literary form as a poem or a play is.