So your teacher has asked you to write a short story, but exactly how long is a short story? A short story is any story with less than 30 000 words, although the average is between 2000 and 7000. The category of short story has three subcategories that might be helpful to know.

• Short short story: between 1000 and 1500 words
• Flash (or sudden) story: less than 1000 words
• Postcard story: less than 250-300 words

The short story is meant to be read all at once. Usually, the story is limited to a short time frame, and has only one or two main characters. The plot often revolves around a single event that involves the main character, and everything else is just support for that event.

One more distinction is between the novella and the novel. The novella is a short novel with between 50 and 100 pages (20 000 - 40 000 words). Novels and novellas are more complicated than a short story. More things happen to more characters. Subplots fill out the story. The story may span a longer time frame, although this is not always the case.