Forgive me if I am being thick. Is there any sort of 'standard' or 'expected' word count for short stories or are they as long or as short as you feel like writing them?

For most UK magazines, they tend to look at stories around the 2000 to 3000 word mark. Some, such as people's friend might even be less than this, but in my experience, you could take this a general rule.

I think it's a very sad state of affairs, this word count business. I can understand it when it comes to novels, especially for a first time writer, but most of the best short stories I've read do not conform to this law.

As you mentioned yourself, a good story should always be as long as it needs to be. Some magazines, such as the third alternative mag, don't have any word limit at all, and I greatly respect this.

thanks

If you’re thinking of submitting a short story to a magazine it’s best to contact them for their own guidelines. Most of the mainstream ones are pretty specific about word count to ensure a story will fit into their page layouts.

And bear in mind, where the guidelines say ‘up to’ a given figure, that means there is no minimum requirement.

Good luck,

Dee.

I write plenty of short stories, but I rarely venture beyond 2000 words. Some are as short as 700, but this is bordering more on what is termed "flash fiction".

Depends on the purpose of the short story, really. Some 'short stories' can be 10,000 words or more.