Variety Is the Meal, not the Spice

How long a story should be is a matter of what the story requires. One story might be done in twenty books—another might be done in 20,000 words.

To put it another way, tell the story that aspires to be told by a competent storyteller.

The story will call to you, and you will be the one to tell it.

Simple as that.

Perhaps it comes from the ether, a place where the collective unconscious will of the universe emanates, or from putting your hands to pen or keyboard.

Whether you outline a bold tale to be told across many years, or you come to your computer or notebook and write it all in a ten-hour session, the story will be—if it requires—something succinct or epic.

Not every story needs to be a 200,000-word epic, though. Not every story will have the substance to justify 50,000 words.

I recently wrote a story about chess, and I quickly realized that describing chess moves becomes boring if you do it too much. So, the story ended up being about one match with a supernatural being in exchange for a chance at the main character’s wife’s survival. I may expand the story later, but I believe it would be far more interesting with varied games instead of one.

Every writer needs a weird story, and this one is mine.

Think of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. There’s a memorable chess scene in that novel that doesn’t overstay its welcome. It is short and works in the plot being told. But it’s a smaller part of a greater whole.

The reason Yu-Gi-Oh! worked when I was a kid across many seasons is that the story was varied enough and had a hard rule system for the game being played, as well as ancient Egyptian motifs and themes that built up a larger storyline.

Those stories did not overstay their welcomes because they used the length necessary to tell the story being told.

Did we really need five Pirates movies? Probably not.

But the characters and whimsy are there, so extending that story makes too much sense (and money is a factor, too).

I believe authors should write stories of varying lengths to elevate their craft.

My next novel after the next Orchestrylus Odyssey novel will be Crown of the Orphic Queen. I’m doing my best to keep that story under 100,000 words, but greater than 50,000.

I have a theory that writing short stories (2,500-15,000 words) forces you to come up with better endings. Since you have a shorter structure to work with, your creative mind must pull from the depths of your knowledge to make an ending that satisfies in a story that doesn’t overstay its welcome.

If you practice these shorter stories (like the type you might give to a magazine) then that will translate to the longer stories in better endings.

Perhaps I’m wrong, but I think there is merit in the idea.

Don’t be afraid to experiment with different lengths (unless your contract says otherwise) and try new things.

Every story will shape up to be the tale that it needs to be.

Whether epic adventures or bite-sized mysteries, the important thing is telling more stories.