Is my story too short?

Normally, when I have a conversation with someone about story length, it's because the writer has written an opus that needs to be trimmed down. This is often the result of too much backstory or unnecessary word building and character description that only distracts from the story as a whole. Trimming a story down is where I'm the queen. (Okay, I'll admit it... I overwrite my own stories in early drafts. I've developed the skills and techniques needed to trim word counts quickly, bringing a story back in line with where it should be.)

However, occasionally, I find myself having a conversation about how a story is actually too short based on the elements presented. There might be too many named characters. Or the setting plays too big of a role for the word real estate available. Or perhaps, there were too many twists and turns and not all the threads were adequately explored.

This is more often seen in shorter story forms, like short stories and novellas, and trying to explain the minimum word count needed to do a story justice is not an easy concept to fathom.

In episode 12.27 of the podcast Writing Excuses, Mary Robinette Kowal introduced an equation that she uses to work out how long a story should be based on the number of characters, number of locations and the number of MICE elements (and NO, I'm not talking about those little things that go squeak, squeak, or those devices that we click repeatedly when the computer refuses to respond). So, let's get to it and break the mathematics down.

MICE Quotient

Before we get too carried away, I should probably define MICE elements. Well, MICE is an acronym first introduced by Orson Scott Card to describe the nature of story conflicts. If you do a Google search for MICE quotient, you will find thousands of pages about it, but to save you from the headache of trying to read all those pages, I'm going to summarize it here.

To put it simply: MICE stands for Milieu, Inquiry, Character and Event.

Milieu is just a fancy term for setting (but SICE wouldn't be as cool as MICE). A milieu story revolves around a location and the issued associated with it. "A character enters a room and now they have to get out of it." The literary classic of Journey to the Center of the Earth at its heart is a milieu story. They've found themselves falling down a dark hole that they have to find their way out of (getting rich along the way). Granted, that novel has other MICE elements too, but milieu is the one that really drives the story.

Inquiry stories are all about asking questions and seeking answers. "Who killed Bobby?" Of course, the answer to the question might be, "You've asked the wrong question." That's where the fun in the story really begins. Almost every single crime story in existence is an inquiry story of some nature. Some dude has committed a crime, and by asking questions, you deduce the answer.

When Mary Robinette Kowal talks about the Inquiry element, she calls it Ask, simply because you ask a question.

(Are you with me so far?)

Character stories revolve around a character needing to fight some form of internal demon. What is the character doing and why are they doing it? Many romance stories will be character stories, with characters learning to trust, or learning that they don't need to be dependent on others to enjoy their company. Whatever the inner demon, that character story will drive your plot.

Event stories are action driven, based on events that occur from external factors. Thrillers are event story that often pull on the other MICE elements to round it out.

If you are writing a full length novel, then you should be incorporating all four MICE elements into your story in some fashion, ideally multiple times. However, for short stories in the order of only 3000 words, you might be lucky if you can successfully incorporate two MICE elements. Most stories of that length contain only one.

The Equation for Story Length

So, with all the permutations possible with the number of characters, locations and MICE elements, how does one actually work out what their word count for a given story should be?

In that episode of Writing Excuses, Mary Robinette Kowal suggested that there is a minimum number of words needed to properly introduce a character to a story, and it's not just about describing their physical characteristics. Introducing a character involves showing how they behave and interact with those around them. General rule of thumb: if your character is important enough to give them a name, then they are important enough to warrant a proper introduction. Kowal suggests that you need 750 words to do this justice.  As such, if your short story restrictions are at 1000 words, you only have the space for a single character.

Kowal goes on to suggest that if your location or setting is a character of its own, then you need another 750 words for that. To complicate matters, each MICE element that you use within the story will amplify the word counts needed.

As such, the full equation for a story's length (Ls) is:

Ls = (((C + L) * 750) * Mq)/1.5

where C is the number of characters, L is the number of locations/settings and Mq is the number of MICE elements.

(Note: This has been updated to reflect the changes that Mary Robinette Kowal suggested in the comments below.)

This is a rough guideline, but for a story of 5000 words (a respectable length for a short story), you can incorporate two characters having a romantic affair in a gorgeous setting (2,250 words to introduce each character and the setting), but only a single MICE element, as two MICE elements would take your story up to 6,750 words (1,250 words over the limit). This doesn't mean that it's not possible, but it's going to be that much harder.

This is why flash fiction takes a specific talent to write, as flash fiction pieces are 1000 words or less, with some as short as only 100 words. Never make the assumption that because you can write short stories that you can write good flash fiction. There's a skill that builds layer upon layer, and the style of writing is rarely seen in longer forms. (Hint: Flash fiction is NOT one of my talents.)

On the flip side of the argument, there is no way you can develop the same level of world building found in a 100,000-word novel into a flash fiction or a short story. It's just not possible. The number of named characters can easily be in the double digits, location often play a huge part, and that 100,000-word manuscript should have all four MICE elements.

Trust me, don't try to build the novel story complexity into a short story. I have made this particular mistake before. Learn from my mistakes.

A Calculator Tool for Story Length

I'm slowly building a set of tools for writers to help with the planning and editing phases of their writing. The first of these tools is now ready for public consumption.

Meet the Minimum Story Length calculator.

This calculator can be used online, and you do not need to be a subscriber to my site. Give it a whirl. What sort of word count should you be aiming for with that story of yours?

P.S. I'd love to meet you on Twitter or Facebook.

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© Copyright, Judy L Mohr 2019