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Flash Fiction word count

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SocksnStuff View Drop Down
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    Posted: 01 Jun 2022 at 5:11pm
I’m attempting the flash fiction challenge for the first time this year (excited, nervous, curious, it’ll be an interesting weekend!) and so far I’ve only participated in the 100 word micro fiction, so I have a question about word counts. Obviously with the micro fic being 100 words, you want to use every single word available and submit with a nice round one hundred.

And the rules state for flash fiction “to create short stories no longer than 1,000 words”, which implies anywhere up to 1000, rather than having to round out to exactly 1000? Would that be correct?

I guess part two of my question for people who’ve tried the challenge before, has anyone had feedback from the judges that imply they were marked down for not using as many words as possible? Will we be less likely to succeed if we only use 850 of the allotted word count, for example? Is it best to use as many words as possible or if our stories finish in the late hundreds is that acceptable?

Just asking now so I have less to consider once the challenge starts—though I imagine I’ll run up to that 1k sooner than expected. Thanks for any answers and replies you might have!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote Suave Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 01 Jun 2022 at 10:30pm

Hi!
You can use however many words it takes to tell your story, up to 1,000.
I have never been dinged for not using them all, and I do that a lot because
I don't like having to chop my story up when I am 400 words over, lol.
Now, a lot of the judges constantly say what they would like added to
a story, especially if the writer has gone right to the 1,000 word limit, so
you can ignore them for that part. If you write a complete story in under
the limit there should be no deductions from the judges.


Edited by Suave - 01 Jun 2022 at 10:31pm
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote SocksnStuff Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 04 Jun 2022 at 7:13am
Originally posted by Suave Suave wrote:


Hi!
You can use however many words it takes to tell your story, up to 1,000.
I have never been dinged for not using them all, and I do that a lot because
I don't like having to chop my story up when I am 400 words over, lol.
Now, a lot of the judges constantly say what they would like added to
a story, especially if the writer has gone right to the 1,000 word limit, so
you can ignore them for that part. If you write a complete story in under
the limit there should be no deductions from the judges.

Thank you for the reply! It’s reassuring to know a complete story should be judged on its own merit not on the exact number of words it uses, I feel a little less nervous now.
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