10/16/2017 Word Counts of Famous Short Stories (organized) – commonplacebook.com
Word Counts of Famous Short Stories (organized)
commonplacebook.com /writing/word-counts-of-famous-short-stories/
By Hawthorn Mineart 1/22/2012
Shamelessly cribbed from Classic Short Stories and re-organized by word count from shortest to longest for comparison purposes. We’re discussing short stories with the Indy NaNoWriMo group this afternoon, and I thought it might help to have a word count chart similar to the one I did for Famous Novels back in November.
Of the 161 stories listed, 3081 is the median word count (number in the middle) and 4052 is the average word count. Duotrope (a free writers’ resource listing over 3950 current fiction and poetry publications) caps their search for short story publishers at 7,500 words, which means most publishers are looking for stories of less than that length.
Words: 710 – Virginia Woolf – A Haunted House Words: 762 – Fielding Dawson – The Vertical Fields Words: 810 – Mark Twain – A Telephonic Conversation Words: 994 – Gabriel Garcia Marquez – One of These Days Words: 1274 – Saki (H H Munro) – The Open Window Words: 1354 – Guy de Maupassant – The Kiss Words: 1377 – Saki (H H Munro) – Mrs Packletide’s Tiger Words: 1411 – Guy de Maupassant – A Dead Woman’s Secret Words: 1429 – Guy de Maupassant – Indiscretion Words: 1464 – Guy de Maupassant – Moonlight Words: 1472 – Guy de Maupassant – Coco Words: 1503 – Anton Pavlovich Checkhov – A Slander Words: 1520 – Saki (H H Munro) – The Mouse Words: 1552 – Guy de Maupassant – Yvette Words: 1564 – William Carlos Williams – The Use of Force Words: 1618 – Liam O’Flaherty – The Sniper Words: 1624 – Guy de Maupassant – Farewell Words: 1657 – Guy de Maupassant – Friend Patience Words: 1691 – Guy de Maupassant – The Drunkard Words: 1720 – Guy de Maupassant – The Christening Words: 1764 – Guy de Maupassant – A Vendetta Words: 1797 – Mark Twain – Luck Words: 1830 – Saki (H H Munro) – Sredni Vashtar Words: 1831 – Ambrose Bierce – The Boarded Window Words: 1857 – Guy de Maupassant – Bellflower Words: 1862 – Guy de Maupassant – In the Wood Words: 1870 – Guy de Maupassant – The Dowry Words: 1896 – Guy de Maupassant – The Unknown Words: 1914 – Guy de Maupassant – A Family Words: 1921 – Guy de Maupassant – Misti–Recollections of a Bachelor Words: 1944 – Guy de Maupassant – Confessing Words: 1978 – Anton Pavlovich Checkhov – The Lottery Ticket Words: 2023 – Guy de Maupassant – A Humble Drama Words: 2071 – Guy de Maupassant – Two Little Soldiers Words: 2073 – E B White – The Door Words: 2083 – Guy de Maupassant – Humiliation Words: 2093 – Edgar Allan Poe – The Tell-Tale Heart Words: 2098 – Rudyard Kipling – How the Leopard Got His Spots 10/16/2017 Word Counts of Famous Short Stories (organized) – commonplacebook.com
Words: 2098 – Guy de Maupassant – The Hand Words: 2106 – Guy de Maupassant – Old Mongilet Words: 2109 – Saki (H H Munro) – The Storyteller (Saki) Words: 2112 – Patrick Waddington – The Street That Got Mislaid Words: 2149 – Mark Twain – A Burlesque Biography Words: 2163 – O Henry – The Gift of the Magi Words: 2208 – Guy de Maupassant – The Hairpin Words: 2256 – O Henry – The Whirligig of Life Words: 2284 – Guy de Maupassant – Denis Words: 2350 – Mark Twain – Italian without a Master Words: 2383 – Edgar Allan Poe – The Masque of the Red Death Words: 2384 – Herman Melville – The Fiddler Words: 2385 – Anton Pavlovich Checkhov – A Day in the Country Words: 2385 – Guy de Maupassant – Waiter Words: 2399 – James Joyce – Araby Words: 2414 – O Henry – The Princess and the Puma Words: 2421 – Dorothy Parker – A Telephone Call Words: 2434 – Guy de Maupassant – Madame Parisse Words: 2457 – Edgar Allan Poe – The Imp of the Perverse Words: 2479 – Guy de Maupassant – Timbuctoo Words: 2495 – Edgar Allan Poe – The Cask of Amontillado Words: 2500 – O Henry – The Last Leaf Words: 2530 – Guy de Maupassant – The Piece of String Words: 2543 – Ambrose Bierce – A Horseman in the Sky Words: 2544 – Rudyard Kipling – The Elephant’s Child Words: 2555 – O Henry – The Coming-Out of Maggie Words: 2623 – Mark Twain – Italian with Grammar Words: 2631 – Mark Twain – The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County Words: 2637 – Guy de Maupassant – Theodule Sabot’s Confession Words: 2649 – James Joyce – Clay Words: 2652 – Guy de Maupassant – The Marquis de Fumerol Words: 2720 – Herman Melville – The Lightning-Rod Man Words: 2731 – Guy de Maupassant – The Devil Words: 2747 – Frank Stockton – The Lady or the Tiger? Words: 2768 – Guy de Maupassant – Julie Romain Words: 2797 – Gabriel Garcia Marquez – Eyes of a Blue Dog Words: 2811 – Edgar Allan Poe – Von Kempelen and His Discovery Words: 2871 – Anton Pavlovich Checkhov – The Bet Words: 2901 – Evan Hunter – The Last Spin Words: 2989 – Guy de Maupassant – The Donkey Words: 3016 – Dylan Thomas – A Child’s Christmas in Wales Words: 3056 – Guy de Maupassant – Toine Words: 3081 – Guy de Maupassant – The Father Words: 3091 – Guy de Maupassant – The Necklace Words: 3159 – Guy de Maupassant – A Coward Words: 3208 – Nathaniel Hawthorne – The Wedding-Knell Words: 3211 – Irwin Shaw – The Girls in Their Summer Dresses Words: 3283 – George Orwell – Shooting an Elephant Words: 3343 – Nathaniel Hawthorne – The Ambitious Guest Words: 3400 – Graham Greene – The End of the Party Words: 3448 – Ambrose Bierce – Beyond the Wall 10/16/2017 Word Counts of Famous Short Stories (organized) – commonplacebook.com
Words: 3620 – Edgar Allan Poe – The Facts in the Case of M Valdemar Words: 3624 – Bret Harte – Tennessee’s Partner Words: 3642 – Guy de Maupassant – An Affair of State Words: 3690 – Paul Bowles – In the Red Room Words: 3772 – Charles Dickens – The Baron of Grogzwig Words: 3773 – Shirley Jackson – The Lottery Words: 3801 – George Saunders – The Falls Words: 3804 – Ambrose Bierce – An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge Words: 3878 – Edgar Allan Poe – 7 Mesmeric Revelation Words: 3899 – Roald Dahl – Lamb to the Slaughter Words: 3998 – Edgar Allan Poe – The Black Cat Words: 4058 – Guy de Maupassant – The Wreck Words: 4134 – W W Jacobs – The Monkey’s Paw Words: 4190 – Bret Harte – The Luck of Roaring Camp Words: 4279 – Guy de Maupassant – That Pig of a Morin Words: 4309 – Gabriel Garcia Marquez – Eva Is Inside Her Cat Words: 4356 – Charles Dickens – The Poor Relation’s Story Words: 4372 – O Henry – The Ransom of Red Chief Words: 4490 – Guy de Maupassant – A Vagabond Words: 4492 – James O’Keefe – Death Makes a Comeback Words: 4618 – Guy de Maupassant – Mademoiselle Fifi Words: 4625 – Roald Dahl – Man From the South Words: 4722 – Katherine Mansfield – The Stranger Words: 5028 – Anton Pavlovich Checkhov – The Darling Words: 5046 – Ring Lardner – Haircut Words: 5072 – Roald Dahl – Beware of the Dog Words: 5114 – Guy de Maupassant – The Inn Words: 5215 – James Joyce – A Little Cloud Words: 5231 – Stuart Cloete – The Soldier’s Peaches Words: 5285 – Nathaniel Hawthorne – The Minister’s Black Veil Words: 5387 – Nathaniel Hawthorne – Young Goodman Brown Words: 5505 – George Orwell – Politics and the English Language Words: 5547 – Jesse Stuart – Split Cherry Tree Words: 5557 – Katherine Mansfield – The Garden Party Words: 5565 – Honore de Balzac – A Passion in the Desert Words: 5637 – Edgar Allan Poe – The Premature Burial Words: 5672 – O Henry – A Blackjack Bargainer Words: 5703 – Nathaniel Hawthorne – The Great Carbuncle Words: 5704 – Bret Harte – How Santa Claus Came to Simpson’s Bar Words: 5707 – Edgar Allan Poe – The Thousand-And-Second Tale of Scheherazade Words: 5751 – Guy de Maupassant – Mademoiselle Pearl Words: 5896 – Rudyard Kipling – Rikki-Tikki-Tavi from The Jungle Book Words: 5952 – Tobias Wolff – Hunters in the Snow Words: 6015 – D H Lawrence – The Rocking-Horse Winner Words: 6078 – Frank Stockton – The Griffin and the Minor Canon Words: 6155 – Edgar Allan Poe – The Pit and the Pendulum Words: 6366 – Ambrose Flack – The Strangers That Came to Town Words: 6758 – Ring Lardner – The Golden Honeymoon Words: 6776 – Guy de Maupassant – Useless Beauty Words: 6815 – Robert Louis Stevenson – Markheim Words: 6826 – Nathaniel Hawthorne – Ethan Brand 10/16/2017 Word Counts of Famous Short Stories (organized) – commonplacebook.com
Words: 6934 – Washington Irving – Rip Van Winkle (A Posthumous Writing of Diedrich Knickerbocker) Words: 7053 – H G Wells – The Door in the Wall Words: 7120 – Henry Van Dyke – The First Christmas Tree Words: 7176 – Jack London – To Build a Fire Words: 7178 – Mark Twain – Was it Heaven? Or Hell? Words: 7181 – Edgar Allan Poe – A Descent Into the Maelstrom Words: 7226 – Edgar Allan Poe – The Fall of the House of Usher Words: 7396 – Edgar Allan Poe – The Purloined Letter Words: 7419 – Thomas Bailey Aldrich – Marjorie Daw Words: 7446 – Richard Harding Davis – The Consul Words: 7805 – Jack London – A Piece of Steak Words: 7876 – Guy de Maupassant – Miss Harriet Words: 8080 – Mark Twain – The Private History of a Campaign That Failed Words: 8426 – Richard Connell – The Most Dangerous Game Words: 8881 – Carl Stephenson – Leiningen versus the Ants Words: 8970 – Willa Cather – Paul’s Case Words: 9601 – Thomas Nelson Page – The Burial of the Guns Words: 10669 – Edith Wharton – Souls Belated Words: 11870 – Edith Wharton – Afterward Words: 12261 – Nathaniel Hawthorne – Rappaccini’s Daughter Words: 33015 – H G Wells – The Time Machine