Can a story be too short?

[snicks]

I posted another story today and the only comment I got was from anonymous who said my story was much too short. I'm not really worried about his comment so much as wondering if there is such a thing as too short. Any comments would be welcome.

Also my new story seems to be having a views problem. When I look at my account, it shows 23 votes but only 6 views, is this normal?


Thanks,
Snicks

 

[loveroleplay]

I haven't read your story, but there is a thing as a story which is too short. A story like that might lack the build up, details about surroundings, feelings and so on. I'm no author, so this was just a input from an eager reader

 

[J.Q. Hack]

A story is as long as it needs to be. Now that that vague qualifier is out of the way I think the answer is both yes and no. Yes, in the sense that if something that makes a story a story is missing. All stories require a beginning, middle & end with some sort of conflict that sees resolution by the end of the story. If your story is missing one of those constituent elements then its not a story. So I think that if your story has at least those bare bones elements then its a story -- no matter if it's 500 words or 500,000 words. As to its quality and how well the story is written are all matters of conjecture that doesn't hinge upon the definition of what a story is.

J.Q.

 

[kbate]

The proper length is whatever tells the tale without fluffing up language just because you can. For Lit - 749 words is too short and that is the only too short that matters.

 

[Darkniciad]

I posted another story today and the only comment I got was from anonymous who said my story was much too short. I'm not really worried about his comment so much as wondering if there is such a thing as too short. Any comments would be welcome.

Also my new story seems to be having a views problem. When I look at my account, it shows 23 votes but only 6 views, is this normal?


Thanks,
Snicks

Votes update immediately when the vote is cast, views are updated on a schedule, so you'll see your views jump the next time the server updates them.

If the person scored you high, and said the story was too short, that may just mean that they wanted *more* because they liked it so much. Thus, it may not be a negative or critical comment at all, but a request to continue the story. Don't forget to think about context