Novellas Info

[Lupis]

Hello all,

I'm relatively new to this site and would like to venture a question to anyone who could provide me with an answer.

I find myself struggling with word lengths when ever I start short stories. My shortest usually (painfully) ends around 7,000 words and usually they wrap up around the 10,000 mark.

I started a short story by it really has evolved into what I think is more of a Novella. It stands at about 35,000 words and looks to be finishing near 45,000 words. I'm sure this makes it a novella and I would just like some insight into what the usual range for a novella is.

I'm a full-time student/athlete and make whatever time I can find to write. I'm new to the entire field in general having only seriously persued this 'hobby' of mine in the last year and a half. Please, I know these questions may seem infantile, but bear with me.

Thank you very much for any help and I can't say how pleased I am to find a place like this where I can get some direct answers from other people who love to tap at keyboards for hours on end.

Thanks alot!
Lupis

[Jamesaritchie]

Lengths for novellas in regular fiction are from 15,000-30,000 words. For science fiction and fantasy, 17,500-40,000 words is considered a novella.

What you're writing is really more of a short novel than a novella. At the very least, it's at the long end of teh novella scale.