Form Choice
The idea's scope decides its natural length. A premise stretched past its scope sags in the middle; one squeezed below it reads as a summary.
Count the moving parts
| Moving part | Short forms | Middle forms | Novel |
|---|---|---|---|
| POV characters | 1 | 1-2 | 1 or more |
Plot threads (MICE threads, see ../../plot-structure/references/mice-quotient.md) |
1, maybe 2 nested | 2-3 | 3 or more |
| Significant locations | 1-2 | 2-4 | Any |
| Story time span | Hours to days | Days to months | Any |
| Named cast | 1-3 | 3-6 | Any |
| Changes the story dramatises | One | One major, one minor | Several, interlocking |
If most parts land in one column, recommend that form. If they straddle, say so and give the trade-off: cut a thread to shorten, or add a complicating thread to lengthen.
The forms
The form field in story.md takes one of these values; story init --form <form> sets it and a default target-words when none is given.
form |
Rough length | What it does well | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
flash |
Up to about 1,500 words | One moment, one image, one turn | Needing backstory to land |
short-story |
About 1,000-7,500 | One change, a single effect (see ../../plot-structure/references/short-story-form.md) |
Subplots, large casts |
novelette |
About 7,500-17,500 | One change with room for a second character's pressure | Being a long short story with padding |
novella |
About 17,500-40,000 | A contained situation, one strong arc, intensity | A novel's worth of threads |
novel |
About 40,000-200,000; genre norms vary | Multiple arcs, subplots, world, time | A single-situation premise that cannot generate 60+ scenes |
serial |
Episodes, each with its own question | Ongoing situations, cliffhangers, reader habit | A story that only pays off at the end; see the genre-craft serial reference |
picture-book |
Up to about 1,000 words, text shared with art | One emotional truth, read-aloud rhythm, page turns | Describing what the art will show |
chapter-book |
Roughly 4,000-15,000 for early readers | Short chapters, simple plots, a series-able lead | Vocabulary and sentence length above the reader |
The bands are rough conventions; SFWA award categories set the
novelette and novella lines that many short-fiction markets use. Genre
norms for novels are in ../../submission/references/word-count-norms.md.
story validate warns when target-words sits outside the form's usual
range; take the warning to the user rather than silently changing either.
serial sets no book-level target-words: set target-words on each
episode chapter instead.
Questions that decide it
- Where does the story end? If the ending is one scene after the inciting situation resolves, it is short. If each answer opens a new question, it is long or serial.
- How much world must the reader learn? A world that needs teaching needs pages. Short forms need a world readers already know, or one revealed in a single strange rule.
- What does the user want to finish? A first project, a market (magazine, anthology, agent, retailer), or an experiment? A short story finished beats a novel abandoned. Ask; do not assume.
- Who is the reader? Picture books and chapter books have audience
conventions that override scope; see
../../genre-craft/references/mg-ya.mdfor middle grade and YA.
Changing form later
Form is a planning decision, not a contract. If drafting shows the idea
is bigger or smaller, edit form and target-words in story.md, then
run story validate . and story report ..