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 Posted: Tue Sep 21, 2010 7:27 pm
I don't get it.
How can someone pull off a story in only 50,000 words?
50,000 words isn't actually that long of a story. On a word document it's probably around 170 pages.... Not too long for an entire book.
Does anybody get what I trying to say here?
What do you think should be a good length for a book? I know that it depends on the story, but what kind of lengths for books do you find most appealing?
Note:
I understand that the length of a book depends on the story.
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Posted: Tue Sep 21, 2010 7:33 pm
Well, like the NaNoWriMo website says, 50,000 words is about the length of Great Gatsby... which means Death of a Salesman and Raisin in the Sun, though they're drama, are probably under 50k words, and I bet Hearts of Darkness is probably somewhere around there as well.
There are plenty of stories that have been pulled off in 50k words.
Me, personally, I'm not too picky about the length of my stories, as long as the pace is decent. Though, I draw that line at, what was it, Harry Potter 5? That was a looooong book. Any longer than that, and I don't want to read a book that physically large.
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Eloquent Conversationalist
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Posted: Tue Sep 21, 2010 7:35 pm
50,000 words is what is widely recognized as the minimum wordcount required for something to be qualified as a novel. NaNoWriMo isn't about getting a full story written in 50k but to get 50k that you didn't have before you started at the beginning of November.
The last three times I've done NaNoWriMo, I've hit my 50k goal and only been between one quarter and one third done with the actual novel, but it was 50,000 words and 1/3-1/4 of a novel I didn't have before I dared to put those ideas up to the one month challenge.
Don't feel restricted to shoving an entire story into the 50k goal if you feel you need more - just aim for getting the goal and having more words written than you did when you started.
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Posted: Tue Sep 21, 2010 7:41 pm
Isacean 50,000 words is what is widely recognized as the minimum wordcount required for something to be qualified as a novel. NaNoWriMo isn't about getting a full story written in 50k but to get 50k that you didn't have before you started at the beginning of November. The last three times I've done NaNoWriMo, I've hit my 50k goal and only been between one quarter and one third done with the actual novel, but it was 50,000 words and 1/3-1/4 of a novel I didn't have before I dared to put those ideas up to the one month challenge. Don't feel restricted to shoving an entire story into the 50k goal if you feel you need more - just aim for getting the goal and having more words written than you did when you started. Although nanowrimo is one of the greatest human inventions known to man, it is this exact thing that distracts me from the goal. I feel like I need to cram an entire story in a 50,000 word document. And then when I start to get writing, I realize how much I really write, and it becomes absolutely impossible for me cram an entire story into only 50,000 words. though this is just me. XD
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Eloquent Conversationalist
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Posted: Tue Sep 21, 2010 7:43 pm
Hmmm.... set your personal goal to 200k words?
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Posted: Tue Sep 21, 2010 7:49 pm
Eylios Hmmm.... set your personal goal to 200k words? XD exactly. If I ever wrote a book (that's a big if), I would make sure that it was some super long epic.
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Posted: Tue Sep 21, 2010 7:52 pm
damaged-reality Isacean 50,000 words is what is widely recognized as the minimum wordcount required for something to be qualified as a novel. NaNoWriMo isn't about getting a full story written in 50k but to get 50k that you didn't have before you started at the beginning of November. The last three times I've done NaNoWriMo, I've hit my 50k goal and only been between one quarter and one third done with the actual novel, but it was 50,000 words and 1/3-1/4 of a novel I didn't have before I dared to put those ideas up to the one month challenge. Don't feel restricted to shoving an entire story into the 50k goal if you feel you need more - just aim for getting the goal and having more words written than you did when you started. Although nanowrimo is one of the greatest human inventions known to man, it is this exact thing that distracts me from the goal. I feel like I need to cram an entire story in a 50,000 word document. And then when I start to get writing, I realize how much I really write, and it becomes absolutely impossible for me cram an entire story into only 50,000 words. though this is just me. XD . . . You're sabotaging yourself. Stop that. Bad writer. No. It. Isn't. Impossible. You're imposing limits on yourself that make you fret and worry about the length, rather than the content, and as you continue to worry and fret and bugger yourself over what is and isn't necessary, what does and doesn't belong, how long it should really be, you completely screw yourself over. It isn't about the length. I repeat: It isn't about the length.When - if - you take up the NaNoWriMo challenge, ignore the silly little wordcount limit. Or, if you really have it stuck in your head that you are only allowed to write a maximum of 50,000 words during this challenge, try challenging yourself to write 50,000 words of an introduction, or Part 1 of 3 or something like that.
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Posted: Tue Sep 21, 2010 8:22 pm
Like others have said, 50k is the length of books like the Great Gatsby, so it's certainly possible to get a whole story into it. It just depends on what kind of story you're writing. I've read a lot of good books that are 200 pages or less and a lot that are 500 pages or more.
You don't have to end your book at the 50k. You don't have to end you book at the end of the month if you have more to write. Some people will have their book 100% written, with a beginning, middle, and end. Other people will just have their books started.
Set a higher goal for yourself, as long as you think you can reach it.
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Posted: Tue Sep 21, 2010 8:24 pm
I usually read books between 300-500 pages. I've read ones around 600 as well. I've also read books around 200. For a book, it's rather short.
But as for a story, that I have to say is different. I've read stories that were only a few pages long and enjoyed them. TV shows are only 45 minutes long. On paper that comes to maybe 55 pages. And have you ever stopped to think about how short the story in comic books and mangas actually are? But they all tell stories.
If a story is well-told, I'm not worried if it's short or long. Only that I'm enjoying it.
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Posted: Wed Sep 22, 2010 7:15 am
wow this thread has been a big help to me.
i've read books that are 100-1000 pages long. it doesn't matter what the page count or the word count is as long as it's a good story. i also thought you had to write a whole novel in 50000 words. sometimes that's possible and sometimes it isn't i think it really depends on the story. some stories are long and some stories are short. now i think i'm just going to focus on writing something for november if i reach the 50k mark than that's great if i exceed it that's amazing but if i don't get it then well at least i have some of a story that wants to be read and probably will be read one day by many people.
just focus on writing at least 50k words not on finishing the book.
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Posted: Wed Sep 22, 2010 8:13 am
in all honesty?
i crapped my pants a bit when i read the 50k limit.
as a writer, i struggle with finishing my work.
it's not that i don't have ideas... i just lose interest.
it's my cross to bear razz
but, i'm actually excited about working on something
that will have a substantial amount of length.
NaNoWriMo is calling to me biggrin
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Posted: Wed Sep 22, 2010 8:33 am
I have the opposite problem. I am very concise in my writing so I find it difficult to come up with that kind of length. I think the most I've ever written was probably 20 pages or so. I can't even begin to fathom writing an entire novel.
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Posted: Wed Sep 22, 2010 3:14 pm
Isacean damaged-reality Isacean 50,000 words is what is widely recognized as the minimum wordcount required for something to be qualified as a novel. NaNoWriMo isn't about getting a full story written in 50k but to get 50k that you didn't have before you started at the beginning of November. The last three times I've done NaNoWriMo, I've hit my 50k goal and only been between one quarter and one third done with the actual novel, but it was 50,000 words and 1/3-1/4 of a novel I didn't have before I dared to put those ideas up to the one month challenge. Don't feel restricted to shoving an entire story into the 50k goal if you feel you need more - just aim for getting the goal and having more words written than you did when you started. Although nanowrimo is one of the greatest human inventions known to man, it is this exact thing that distracts me from the goal. I feel like I need to cram an entire story in a 50,000 word document. And then when I start to get writing, I realize how much I really write, and it becomes absolutely impossible for me cram an entire story into only 50,000 words. though this is just me. XD . . . You're sabotaging yourself. Stop that. Bad writer. No. It. Isn't. Impossible. You're imposing limits on yourself that make you fret and worry about the length, rather than the content, and as you continue to worry and fret and bugger yourself over what is and isn't necessary, what does and doesn't belong, how long it should really be, you completely screw yourself over. It isn't about the length. I repeat: It isn't about the length.When - if - you take up the NaNoWriMo challenge, ignore the silly little wordcount limit. Or, if you really have it stuck in your head that you are only allowed to write a maximum of 50,000 words during this challenge, try challenging yourself to write 50,000 words of an introduction, or Part 1 of 3 or something like that. lol, there was so much truth to that. *pounds head on desk
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Posted: Wed Sep 22, 2010 3:22 pm
I "totes magotes" think some of you guys aren't understanding the number "50,000" properly.
50,000 is not a max. limit-- it's a *minimum* (to win, anyway)
The idea is to get you to 50k in a month so maybe you'll have the momentum to finish the however-many-thousands of words you have left in you. 50k is an achievable goal--though it may be a challenge, and definitely requires extra effort than a typical pace--but it is by no means a cap on how many words you can have. 50k is a floor--for winning, anyway--the sky is the limit.
You are by no means obligated or even suggested to fit an entire novel into 50,000 words.
Some beginners actually have trouble stretching the plot to reach 50k (I did my first year), but a lot of participants write their 50k during November, and still have half their plotlines or more left to write.
Basically, 50k is an arbitrary number chosen by OLL that is the minimum requirement to receive a winner's certificate.
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Posted: Fri Sep 24, 2010 6:06 am
It's still a lot to write in thirty days, you know? Last year (my first NaNo) my 52k from NaNo was only about 50% of the finished product, and it still needs work. I expect this year (last year's NaNo's sequel) to be even longer, haha. Some novellas are that short, though.
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