What is the difference between flash fiction, a short story, a novella, or a novel?

Flash Fiction: is anywhere from 6 words to 1k words. It is a complete story and has a beginning, middle, and end.

Short Story: is above 1k but under 10k words. Again, with a beginning, middle, and end.

Novella: is above 10k, but under 40k.

Novel: anything above 40k.

If writing anything but science fiction or fantasy, I’ve heard readers get annoyed if the novel is above 80k words. For science fiction or fantasy, I’ve heard it can go as high as 120k words because there’s lots of world-building to do.

So that’s what I’ve been told.

Do you struggle with knowing where your story is going to fit? I certainly do.

Lucia Sugafield