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Deep Pencil - the musings of Morgan Bell

 
If a tree falls in the woods and nobody is there to hear it did it really make a sound? If i post a blog and nobody reads it was there really any point? You have entered the random thinking space of Morgan Bell . . . These are my musings . . . things about my life written off the top of my head . . . written in an informal disjointed style almost completely devoid of punctuation, this is where i flesh out writing ideas, discuss my life, and generally be self indulgent . . . it is also the bargain bin for articles which do not fit in with the film or arts themes of my other blogs . . . so have a wander around my mind, have a laugh, have a think, be nice, and humour me!

Counting Words

November 17th 2008 17:37
Defining works of fiction by Word Count . . .

Novel - 40,000 words or more

Novella - between 17,500 and 40,000 words

Novelette - between 7,500 and 17,500 words

Short story - 7,500 words or less

Short-short story - between 1,250 and 3,000 words.

Sudden fiction - between 750 and 1,250 words

Flash fiction - between 250 and 750 words.

Microfiction - 100 words or less

Drabble - exactly 100 words long (A double drabble [200 words] is a droubble. Half a drabble [50 words] is a dribble.)

69er - exactly 69 words long, often written as a group of three 69ers of similar theme

Nanofiction - exactly 55 words long, with titles no more than 7 words long

55er - exactly 55 words long, the first line is 10 words long, and each following line should have one fewer word, ending in a one-word line.

Postcard/thumbnail fiction - 50 words or less

Baby shoes - 6 words long, eg: “For sale. Baby shoes. Never worn.” by Ernest Hemmingway

Vignette - short, impressionistic scene that requires little or no character development or plot, it provides a glimpse into a scene or emotion without care for story arc.







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Comments
15 Comments. [ Add A Comment ]

Comment by Cheryl J

November 18th 2008 00:45
So my dribbles are usually drabbles so that's why I keep getting into droubles.

What a great list! I love to count ah ah ah.

PS: So THAT'S what a 69er is.

Comment by RubySoho

November 18th 2008 03:59
PS: So THAT'S what a 69er is.

Yeah, I had no idea Alanis Morisette was so literary.

Comment by Morgan Bell

November 18th 2008 05:19
hi Cheryl,
god youre a dag! haha




hi Ruby,
i think we all learnt something about 69ers here today!
look if the lady doesnt know what irony is we can hardly expect her to know the definitions of obscure forms of mini-fiction!

Comment by Michaelie

November 18th 2008 07:07
Isn't sudden fiction what happens when you get pulled over for speeding? 'I had a sudden foot spasm... my stiletto got caught on the pedal... I'm in cardiac arrest and on my way to the ER'?

I want to write some Flash Fiction. Sounds so... flash.

Very informative Morgan, and I love the perfectly apt inclusion of the Count!

Mich

Comment by Morgan Bell

November 18th 2008 07:29
hi Michaelie,

i came across the word "novelette" and decided to investigate, i had no idea there were so many categories for fiction that is shorter than a novel!

i think we really need to include The Count when counting . . . he sets a great mood!

i like your speeding idea "there was glare on my speedo and i couldnt see where the needle was pointing!"

Comment by Paul

November 18th 2008 07:33
Very useful; I didn't know any of that. And I jolly well should. Many thanks, Morgan. Best regards, P.

Comment by Morgan Bell

November 18th 2008 07:41
hi Paul,
thanks for stopping in!
i didnt know any of it until last night, so we are peas in a pod!
i thought there were just novels and short stories, but apparently it is far more complex than i first imagined!

Comment by Janet Collins

November 18th 2008 12:42
Have they figured out the word count for a post yet?
Fun post.

Comment by Morgan Bell

November 18th 2008 13:00
hi Janet,
haha we may have a way to go before blogging is classified as literature!

Comment by Janet Collins

November 18th 2008 13:30
Surely posts rate higher than drabbles, droublbes or dribbles!!

Comment by Morgan Bell

November 18th 2008 13:40
hi Janet,
maybe i should assign myself a task to write a drabble, a 55er and a few 69ers?
or perhaps a series of thumbnails?
just reading about creativity makes me wanna be more creative!

Comment by Aimzster

November 19th 2008 05:48
hahhaah...this is hilarious. If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were making it up. A 'short-short story'? Who came up with these things, anyway?

Comment by Morgan Bell

November 19th 2008 07:05
hi Aimzster,
someone with waaaay too much time on their hands!
haha
but to answer the question my main sources were these:
Really Long Link
Really Long Link

Comment by Chris Champion

November 21st 2008 04:50
Nice list. My novel has passed the short-short-story cut-off and is heading for full-blown short-story status. My other novel is still too short to appear on your list. It's at about half-haiku stage.

Comment by Morgan Bell

November 21st 2008 07:48
hi Chris,
well it gives you a bit of incentive hey!
a novel can seem a bit daunting but some "baby shoes" are quite achievable!
good luck with your fiction writing . . . sounds like you are making MUCH more progress than me!

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