The Forms Fiction Can Take
A classic story has several key elements, including character, conflict, and resolution. But you can put these elements together in a surprising number of ways. While the specifications aren’t hard and fast, here are seven of the forms that fiction can take:
• Flash Fiction (sometimes called Microfiction) – a work with all the elements of a story that takes place in 750 words or less (as defined by James Thomas in Flash Fiction: 72 Very Short Stories )Consider this example by Ernest Hemingway, just six words long: “For sale: baby shoes, never worn.”
• Nanofiction – a story with at least one character and a discernible plot that is exactly 55 words long
• Short Short Story – a story that’s under 2,500 words
• Traditional Short Story – a story that’s under 7,500 words
• Novelette – a story that’s between 7,501 and 17,500 words
• Novella – a story that’s between 17,501 and 40,000 words
• Novel – a story that’s at least 40,001 words long
(Source: TheValve.org)
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