Dear Authors, Size Does Matter

Best of all, you've had a story idea! A superb story idea that you're sure other people are going to love too! Well isn't that just fabulous? I'm made up for you. Really. You won't see the verdant steam of jealousy billowing from my ears at all. In fact, I'm so happy for you that I'm going to help you make sure you don't ruin it.'Ruin it?!' You cry, aghast and perturbed. 'What could possibly ruin this little gem of mine?!'Lots of things, but what I'm really thinking about today is the length of your story: writing a novel that should be a novella; a novella that should be a short story; a short story that should be a one hundred word story; a one hundred word story that should be fifty... or indeed, writing a fifty word story that should be a 550,000 word trilogy with a spin-off stage musical.