Stacy, Ann and I made it to Apple Blossom and had a reasonably productive meeting.

We discussed our respective worlds -

Stacy confessed she has detailed maps of hers (I’m so jealous). Pages and pages of them she puts together like a puzzle and which she would like to eventually put together on a whole wall.

I discussed my difficulties in designing buildings in my new world. I did find a free online program called Floorplanner <http://www.floorplanner.com> which I am playing with right now. It is pretty cool and reasonably user friendly.

Discussed the merits of computer versus notebook and pen/pencil writing.

Goals obtained:

Stacy came close – she only fell half a chapter short, but did do one mammoth chapter so we decided it should count as 1.5.

Ann got Stacy to the meeting, which is her standing goal (since she is not a writer but “writer support” person)

Michele wrote every day and since no one posted the official goals, I’m not sure if I had any others. Didn’t do them if I did!

Goals set:

Same as last time – hey, we’re Solame… what can we say. Our only other goal was to NOT have goals. <BSG>

We ended the night with about half an hour of writing. Woo hoo!!

That is all… not too bad for not having an agenda.

 

Agenda 04/17/12

 

 

 

• Goals

 

• One of your most powerful tools as a writer is not your vocabulary, your mastery of grammar or even your fancy computer — it’s your voice.  Your unique blend of description, character and style allows you to talk to the reader through the printed word.  Without a voice, a manuscript may have an exciting plot, interesting characters and a surprise ending, but it might not get published.  The voice is what beckons the reader to curl up with a book and whispers, “Pay attention.  I’m going to tell you a story.”

 

Editors are always searching for new voices.  Yet, when pressed, most editors find it hard to describe exactly what a voice is.  Which is why the writer’s voice isn’t something that can be taught, but it is something you can acquire with practice.  Your voice is already there, inside your writing, but it may be covered up with ideas of what you think writing is all about.  Many beginners work very hard at trying to sound like a writer.  They pore through the thesaurus looking for fancy substitutions for ordinary words; they create complex sentences bursting with flowery descriptions.  They’ve forgotten that their goal is to communicate (…with a child…) and instead are in love with the way their words look on the page.

 

• From http://www.julieleto.com/articles/

 

CLICHÉ’S

 

• This process of showing, not telling, can be broken down into four essential steps.  They are: Selection of, and adherence to, a single character’s viewpoint Imagining the crucial sense or thought impressions that character is experiencing at any given moment Presenting those impressions as vividly and briefly as possible Giving those impressions to readers in a logical order Getting into the viewpoint of your central story character — and staying there — helps enormously in showing instead of telling.  If you’re solidly in viewpoint, you won’t be tempted to lecture readers because you will be revealing that character’s experiences rather than reviewing some abstract, objectively written data.  If you’re well inside the viewpoint, for example, you can’t dump a lot of author-intrusive information on readers because viewpoint characters, like real people, experience things rather than tell about them.

 

 

 

• MORNING-ROUTINE CLICHÉ Clichés come in all shapes and sizes.  There are just as many clichéd scenes as phrases and words.  For instance, how many times have you seen a book begin with a main character being “rudely awakened” from a “sound sleep” by a “clanging” alarm clock?  Have you written an opening like this yourself?  Wondering where to start, you opt for first thing in the morning.  Speaking of clichés, been there, done that.  We all have.  Don’t ever do it again.  Compounding that cliché is having the “bleary-eyed” character drag himself from his bed, squinting against the intruding sunlight.  And compounding that is telling the reader everything the character sees in the room.  What comes next?  He’ll pass by or stand before a full-length mirror, and we’ll get the full rundown of what the poor guy looks like.  Are you cringing?  I’ve done the same kind of clichéd scene.  Resolve to leave that whole morning-routine cliché to the millions of writers who’ll follow in your footsteps.  I know you want me to suggest alternatives to those hackneyed constructs, but inventing fresh ways to start a story and describe a character is your job.  If an early morning routine is endemic to your plot — say your character is wound tight and sleepless because of a crucial morning meeting — put him on the commuter train with an unsupervised child darting about.  He doesn’t know what she’s doing amidst all the businesspeople, with their noses stuck in newspapers or laptop screens, but she points at him and says, “Don’t you comb your hair?”  Mortal dread.  Is it possible that, in his hurry to catch the last train that would get him to his job interview on time, our hero actually skipped a step in his personal routine?  Now he has to find his reflection in the train window or the aluminum back of the seat in front of him.  And then what does he do?
• Routine
  • We all get dressed, walk out to the car, open the door, slide in, turn the key, and back out of the driveway.  If your character backs into the garbage truck, that’s a story.  Just say it: That morning, as Bill backed out of the driveway, his mind was on the tongue-lashing he had endured the day before from his boss.  Only when he heard the ugly crunch and scrape and his head snapped back did he realize he had not bothered to check his rearview mirror.  He had plowed into a garbage truck that looked half as big as his house.

 

SPELL IT OUT One of the clichés of conversation is feeling the need to explain more than once what’s going on, as if the reader can’t figure it out on his own.  I actually read a novel in which, when a character said something quirky like “promptly, punctually, and prissily” (which was actually funny and fit the personality), the author felt the need to add, “He said alliteratively.”  Other writers have a character respond to a diatribe from another with “Yep,” or “Nope,” or a shrug.  Perfect.  I love to learn about personalities this way.  The character is a man of few words.  Too often, the author intrudes, adding, “He said, eschewing small talk.”  If you create a character who backs into a conversation with tentative phrases like, “Oh, I was just wondering,” or, “I don’t know how to say this, but if I, well, let me say it this way,” we get it.  We understand this is a timid, nervous person, afraid of saying something wrong, sensitive to others’ feelings.  Avoid the temptation to explain.  Don’t follow that with, “she began nervously, unsure how to broach the subject.”  Maybe the responder to that speaker says, “Is there a question in there somewhere?  What are you saying?”  That tells us all we need to know.  You don’t have to explain with, “the insensitive jerk said.”

 

• SETTING THE SCENE Because of the proliferation of all sorts of visual media these days, it’s more important than ever that novelists write with the eye in mind.  Fortunately, just as in the days of radio, what can be produced in the theater of the mind (in our case, the reader’s mind) is infinitely more creative than what a filmmaker can put on the screen.  Be visual in your approach.  People buy tickets to the movies or subscribe to cable channels hoping to see something they’ve never seen before.  A good novel can provide the same, only — because of the theater of the mind — millions of readers can see your story a million different ways.  Although I’m encouraging you to be visual, I eschew too much description.  I loved it when great potboiler writer John D. MacDonald de-scribed a character simply as “knuckly.”  A purist might have demanded hair length and color; eye size, shape, and color; height; weight; build; gait.  Not me.  “Knuckly” gave me all I needed to picture the man.  And if I saw him thinner, taller, older than you did, so much the better.  MacDonald offered a suggestion that allowed his readers to populate their own scenes.  I recall an editor asking me to expound on my “oily geek” computer techie in one of my books in the Left Behind series.  I argued: (1) he was an orbital character, and while I didn’t want him to be a cliché from central casting, neither did I feel the need to give him more characteristics than he deserved, and (2) he was there to serve a purpose, not to take over the scene, and certainly not to take over the book.  The editor countered, “But the reader will want to see him, and you haven’t told us enough.  Like, I see him in his twenties, plump, pale, with longish, greasy hair and thick glasses.”

 

What could I say?  “Eureka!  You just proved my point!  All I wrote was that he was an oily geek, and look what you brought to the table.”  Every reader has his own personal vision of a computer techie, so why not let each mental creation have its fifteen seconds of fame on the theater screen of the mind?

 

 

 

Writer’s Digest Books, Editors of (2012-01-01).  The Complete Handbook Of Novel Writing: Everything You Need to Know About Creating & Selling Your Work (Kindle Locations 589-590).  F+W Media, Inc…  Kindle Edition.

 

 

 

• Discuss and then write

 

I am still honing my writing techniques.  I have changed it yet again, this time though I am not focusing on so much as how.  Before if, you recall it was just pen and paper.  This proved two things to me.  One is it is great to feel the writing flow in pen, and two it transcribes into a first edit.

So why the change, well because I like many before me am an amateur still finding what works for me.  I don’t care what books you read, what you were taught, by teachers, and other professional writers, if you want to write figure a routine that works for you.  You can still learn a lot of the others, but you need to blend it in your own way.

I have learned so much in the last year, of getting my novel published.  First of all, writing as fast as you can is GOLD.  Do it, don’t hesitate, those voices that are talking to you won’t wait forever, and when they leave they don’t like to come back.  Second of all, when you have a story idea, jot it down.

Look at it this way, you have this idea, this voice, this man in your head saying screw the book you are on, write me.  Feed that voice a little jot it down, I don’t start the story, and I write a summary or notes about the story.  It can be a page long to a sentence.   I then continue the story I am on.  Once I finish writing my story, I take a week or so and look at the new story ideas, talk to friends that are beta readers or just plain old friends.  I bounce around story ideas that I took notes on, than BAM , a story takes a hold of me or several.  A hurricane forms, tornadoes touch down and ideas are flowing through my head at unbelievable rates.  I still only jot down notes, get pictures of the characters.  Then the storm calms and I go back to the story I just written with, tears and blood and tear it a new one.  I edit the crap out of it.

At this point, I am so sick of it I usually send it to a beta reader to get the first insights on it.  They give it back, saying good story but what the hell happened here; it looks like you had a heart attack writing it or a stroke.  I usually say fuck off, and then go back to the book and work on it more.  They attacked my birth, my joy, why did I let them do it.

I will tell you why, because their expression, their gratitude, the joy of entertaining their most in-depth part of their mind was exuberating.  I made them feel the story, I made them part of the story as much as I was writing it.  The characters spoke through them, and really isn’t that why we write.

Then more edits come, and more corrections, if it sounds good to me, I let more beta readers read it.  Then when it finally passes the last approval, it is time to have it published for all.

So anyways, I will be writing one story at a time averaging 4 hours if possible a day.  I know Nora Roberts spends a minimum of 8hrs a day but for me that would be very hard.  I just don’t have the time for I have another job outside of writing.  Maybe if writing was my full time job I could do the 8 hrs but right now I will treat it like a part time job.

Agenda 04/02/12

 

 

1. Nora Robert  (how does she do it)
   1. Start
   2. Typical day
   3. Husband
   4. Writing

                                                              i.      scenes of passion

1. Does you husband read them

                                                            ii.      General

5. Readinghabits
6. World Creations
7. Classes
8. Traveling
9. Challenges

                                                              i.      Everyday life

                                                            ii.      Plagiarism episode

10. The business of writing
11. Goals
12. Preparing to write

                                                              i.      Mentally

1. inspirations

                                                            ii.      Physically

1. working environment

                                                          iii.      keeping it fresh

13. Stress of deadlines
14. How long does it take to write each book

                                                              i.      Drafts

15. JD Robb

                                                              i.      Why

16. Favorites (best)
17. Romantic evening for Nora

 

 

2. Goals
   1. Robert

                                                              i.      Agenda

                                                            ii.      5k 6 scenes (updated goal with be on my blog soon)

2. Tammy

                                                              i.      Minutes

                                                            ii.      Calendar

3. Jaci

                                                              i.      7 page (2100 words)

4. Michelle

                                                              i.      14 of 14 days

5. Shawna

                                                              i.      Blend to worlds

                                                            ii.      Learn Latin

6. SoLamer’s goal

                                                              i.      Write at least 2k of words

 

 

3. Discussion

MEETING 03/20/12

 

 

1. Pitching
   1. Perfect the Pitch
   2. Have an anomaly for your protagonist
   3. Writing Series, Pitch First Book
   4. Don’t be a Secret Keeper
   5. Say Something about Character
   6. Book Goal

 

2. Dialogue
   1. Cut the first few words
   2. Avoid telephone dialogue
   3. Write small actions and/or gestures
   4. Body language (Writing exercise)

 

3. Characters
   1. Inner conflict in the protagonist
   2. Be more dimensional
   3. Larger than life
   4. Different character (Money, class, color, speech, & ETC)
   5. Sacrifices

 

4. Scenes
   1. What is the immediate goal
   2. What gets in the way
   3. Action

 

5. DESCRIPTION AND SETTING (Painting a scene)
   1. Use setting to develop atmosphere
   2. Use weather.
   3. Consider the quality of light in a scene.
   4. Use all five senses
   5. Sprinkle description throughout
   6. Vary the way you approach a similar setting.
   7. Words

                                                               i.      Use active verbs

                                                             ii.      Replace words you overuse.

                                                            iii.      Use specific and concrete language

 

6. Goals
   1. Robert

                                                               i.      Agenda

                                                             ii.      6 Scenes or (refigured it) 5 k of words

1. NEW GOAL?

 

2. Tammy

                                                               i.      Minutes

                                                             ii.      Calendar

                                                            iii.      Start an outline

1. NEW GOAL?

 

3. Jaci

                                                               i.      7 pages (2100 words)

1. NEW GOAL?

 

4. Michele

                                                               i.      Write 14 days out of the 14 days

1. (Robert’s take on this goal) 1k of words a day
   1. NEW GOAL?

 

5. Shawna

                                                               i.      Making a schedule to attend at least one meeting a week due to volleyball

                                                             ii.      Blend two worlds (create) for her story

1. NEW GOAL?

 

6. Other Members

                                                               i.      For members not physically able to attend, will need to write at least 2K. 

                                                             ii.      Also if you need the lesson plan of what we talked about please comment below or show up at the meeting starting at 06:00 PM and ending at 07:30 at Apple Blossom inOshkosh,WI

7. Talk about what we wrote about and other important information as long as it is not 12 shades of grey.  Also in this meeting we will try to avoid on which version of D&D we have played.  (Yes that just geeked us out.)

MEETING 03/06/12

 

            For people that are interested in joining our group, (due to many request) we are a group that specializes in the mindset needed for writing.  All of us writers write fantasy, non-fiction. We prefer fiction writers but we will consider others, no one gets turned down, we just want everybody to love and enjoy writing.  We do ask though that you have an open mind and respect other writers.  This would include when we do our time writing drill which usually 30-45 minutes long or about one thousand words(we average 1k an hour hand writing, lab tops are welcomed). 

 Some have been writing since birth, some just starting.  Some of us have a specific genre we specialize in and some are still trying to find their niche.   We are here to help you what you want to write.  Maybe you just need that push, and that is what we are here for.  We have meetings every other Tuesday at Apple Blossom, this is what are agenda will be for the next meeting on 03/06/12. 

 

 

1. WRITING GOLDsurrounds us
   1. What people did we notice this
   2. What scenery did we want to include in the stories that we saw

                                                              i.      For example, Jaci and I were watching HGTV and this couple was buying aLondonhome.  The house was pristine with interior wood work in every corner.  We both agreed if we lived in this house for five months (cost of only $25,000 for renting the 5 months) we could produce several books. 

1. We know we can’t afford that, but I have a feeling that our characters might have a home like that. 
2. This doesn’t mean we will jot it down, (I have good memory on details like this.) but we could.  It is called a mental note.

3. Not only does scenery have to be in the books, but maybe you saw an office that you thought would inspire you in your officer/ writing space.  (Writing space is a must by the way)
4. Maybe go to www.seventhsanctum.com (a site that can give you names, descriptions and scenes.)  several other sites exist to help writers out.
1. What things from stories/movies/music did you think was amazing and it isn’t wrong to work with the idea for yourself.
   1. I hear way too often, “the idea has been done; it is like ‘so and so.’”  

                                                              i.      YOU ARE WRONG, it hasn’t been done YOUR WAY.   Write it, maybe it will turn out amazing and unique or maybe it will turn out to be a fanfic.  Who cares though, you wrote something.

1. My first book that was completed was a version of Hercules mixed with Xena (70K pretty much fan fic), but off of that idea came my original store “Gone Rogue”

3. Writing time
   1. Did you commit yourself to your writings
   2. Were the goals met (not sure if these are correct, please check the minutes from last meeting) (you can post in comments to correct your goals or when you achieved it, also note how you achieved it if you can)
   3. Robert

                                                              i.      6 scenes

4. Tammy

                                                              i.      Start on something knew

5. Jaci

                                                              i.      Finish her notebook (a lot)

6. Michele

                                                              i.      get back in the habit of writing everyday

1. she took a break after NanoWrimo and lost track of her routine

7. other members

                                                              i.      For anyone that didn’t show, make time to write and write at least 2K (remember you can average 1k a hour by hand) 

                                                            ii.      That is less that 1 hr to writing a week, push yourself.

8. New goals
3. Talk about what we wrote about, what we will write and in general how the book is going. 
   1. Do you need to talk a chapter, or scene out
   2. Have questions on your book
   3. Does this make sense
4. TALK ABOUT ANYTHING ELSE THAT NEEDS TO BE BROUGHT TO ATTENTION

 

6. WRITING SPRINT

 

In attendance:  Robert, Jaci, Michele, Tammy, Jane

Absent:  Shawna

Next Meeting:  February 21, 2012

Notes:

Solame welcomed a new member to the group tonight.  Her name is Jane and she is working on her memoirs.

Robert pretended to have an agenda and later in the meeting called Michele a super genius.

The meeting part held mostly discussions about our need to meet, or at least try, to achieve our goals.  Time went quickly and soon it was time for the writing portion of the meeting.

Goals:

• Candace Haven workshop goal – Write 5000 words before next meeting.
• Standing goal – Blog

Jaci – Get Edward and Nikki to Nashville

Robert – Will write 15,000 words if everyone meets their 5000.  Work on Demon Within. Work on Witch book.

Michele – Write the 8 pages it’s gonna take to finish her Jade book.

Tammy – Put the meeting minutes up

Jane – Work on the 1st chapter to her book

Shawna – Quit volleyball.  Join the Peace Corps.  Write 50,000 words before next meeting.  Cure cancer.

MEETING 02/21/12

 

1. We will ask how long do we spend on writing each day
   1. Can we improve it
   2. Can we move things around

                                                              i.      Maybe some ideas of how one could write will they take 1.5 hour drive to work

2. Road Blocks (AKA Writing Blocks)
   1. How do we get those 8 pages done

                                                              i.      To move along with the story, get to the next process

2. Is because you are missing a step

• Have you kept the spotlight on your basic theme and main characters? Sub-plots and minor characters should not overshadow these.
• Have you developed your characters fully, portraying them through their actions, reactions and interactions, and keeping them ‘in character’ throughout? Don’t let them act out of character without a good reason.
• Has your protagonist changed (or been changed) by the end? A main character who neither changes nor grows in some meaningful way between the first and last pages will be static and unconvincing.
• Is your story logical? Even a fantasy needs to make sense within its own terms.
• Does the story maintain a satisfactory ’cause and effect’ sequence, with each event following on logically from what has gone – before? A plot that relies on coincidence, for example, or the convenient arrival of a new character, will strain your reader’s credulity. Coincidences do happen in real life, but they’re seldom convincing in fiction.
• Have you kept control of your chosen narrative voice (or voices) throughout? Check for unintentional switches or slips of viewpoint?
• Does every scene take the action forward, enrich characterisation, increase tension, or provide a calming or reflective interlude? If it does none of these, ask yourself why it’s there. Could it be cut without harming the story?
• Check every piece of dialogue – is it ‘in character’? Does it contribute to characterisation and/or move the story forward?
• Have you been sparing with description and explanation, leaving room for your reader’s imagination to come into play?
• Is the writing strong, evoking all the senses? Have you used passive voice where active voice would work better? Have you used ‘to be’ verbs supported by adverbs where strong verbs alone would be more effective? Flabby writing can dull the impact of the most brilliant story.
• Look again at the story as a whole. Is the structure balanced? Have you begun in the right place? Don’t jeopardise your chances by starting the story too early, providing too much background and taking too long to get things moving. Many a story has been saved by cutting out the first chapter and plunging straight into the action.
• Have you sustained momentum through the middle section, moving the story on through cause and effect, action and reaction, tightening tension as you build to the climax?
• Have you left your reader feeling satisfied that the whole story has been told? Make sure you haven’t left any unintentional loose ends.
• Are you absolutely sure your novel is as good as you can make it?
  • http://www.howtobooks.co.uk/leisure/writing/

 

3.  Write for 45 minutes

My new and improved writing style.  I just wanted to put this out there for anybody that was curious of my writing style.  I am currently writing three stories at once, which I don’t recommend if you are writing for your first time.

My first novel was written at once as fast as I could but needed a lot of editting which was normal and okay.  Now though I tried for NanoWrimo to write long handed.  I found out by writing long handed when I put into my computer I can add more details, or take some out.  It makes it flow better.  Then I had to cure my other problem I had.

That problem was I would write myself to death.  My story was very interesting and all but I would write to death.  Look at this way, my brain was a car, and I would write till it was empty, and then need to fill up and couldn’t write for a week.  That was very unproductive.   During this refill I would take in other surrounding items in and figure new stories out and just write a sentence or two about it and come back after the novel.  The problem with this, for me at least was that I didn’t have inspiration anymore for that story, or my mind would wonder when I was writing the current W.I.P.

So I decided to write three stories at once, when a story idea comes to me I start it until I hit that empty phase.  This is usually a scene later.  Now though I have three stories I am thinking about constantly and I rotate through the stories, it is like I have three gas tanks now.  The fun part is these stories are so different from each other I can switch from one to the other without worring about overlapping details.

This is how I do it though, I start with one scene from one story, and when I finish that scene I go to the next story and do a scene, then the next.  I was asked the other day how do I keep all the stories straight, and that is they easiest answer I can give.  I have covers or character profiles in the binder in front of each story.  My characters are so very different that each character is somewhere in my head.

By doing this though my characters have been speaking to me like I am crazy.  I have to bring my binder now everywhere I go or my smart phone for details and let the characters loose.  One thing is nice though they never speak to each other, maybe fight to be the one I want to hear but then they tell me their stories.

I usually can control whose speaking and once I am on a roll I can write for long periods of time of that character.  I hit that state that every writer loves to be in.  I hit that space that is not reality but our Muse’s land.  (more info on muses, please read the MUSE, by Stacia Kelly)

I know someone is saying well I have many characters in one story and there is no way you can keep them apart.  I just want to point out this is my writing style and might not be right for everyone by I have one story that has 6 main characters, another story with 3 and that last one with 1 main and a lot of 2^nd characters that was critical to keep track of.

Just thought I should share my style.

Andrew McKay

Yeah, here I am…blogging!!

Scary…no?

Below is the list of story lengths that I researched for the reference enjoyment of the group. This excerpt is from “The Swivet” blog by Colleen Lindsay. For the complete piece you can find it here: http://theswivet.blogspot.com/2008/03/on-word-counts-and-novel-length.html

***

Word counts for different kinds of novels vary, but there is are general rules of thumb for fiction that a writer can use when trying to figure out just how long is too long. For the purposes of this post, I’m only talking about YA, middle-grade and adult fiction here. And bear in mind that there are always exceptions, but good general rules of thumb would be as follows:

middle grade fiction = Anywhere from 25k to 40k, with the average at 35k

YA fiction = For mainstream YA, anywhere from about 45k to 80k; paranormal YA or YA fantasy can occasionally run as high as 120k but editors would prefer to see them stay below 100k. The second or third in a particularly bestselling series can go even higher. But it shouldn’t be word count for the sake of word count.

paranormal romance = 85k to 100k

romance = 85k to 100k

category romance = 55k to 75k

cozy mysteries = 65k to 90k

horror = 80k to 100k

western = 80k to 100k (Keep in mind that almost no editors are buying Westerns these days.)

mysteries, thrillers and crime fiction = A newer category of light paranormal mysteries and hobby mysteries clock in at about 75k to 90k. Historical mysteries and noir can be a bit shorter, at 80k to 100k. Most other mystery/thriller/crime fiction falls right around the 90k to 100k mark.

mainstream/commercial fiction/thrillers = Depending upon the kind of fiction, this can vary: chick lit runs anywhere from 80k word to 100k words; literary fiction can run as high as 120k but lately there’s been a trend toward more spare and elegant literary novels as short as 65k. Anything under 50k is usually considered a novella, which isn’t something agents or editors ever want to see unless the editor has commissioned a short story collection. (Agent Kristin Nelson has a good post about writers querying about manuscripts that are too short.)

science fiction & fantasy = Here’s where most writers seem to have problems. Most editors I’ve spoken to recently at major SF/F houses want books that fall into the higher end of the adult fiction you see above; a few of them told me that 100k words is the ideal manuscript size for good space opera or fantasy. For a truly spectacular epic fantasy, some editors will consider manuscripts over 120k but it would have to be something extraordinary. I know at least one editor I know likes his fantasy big and fat and around 180k. But he doesn’t buy a lot at that size; it has to be astounding. (Read: Doesn’t need much editing.) And regardless of the size, an editor will expect the author to to be able to pare it down even further before publication. To make this all a little easier, I broke it down even further below:

—> hard sf = 90k to 110k
—> space opera = 90k to 120k
—> epic/high/traditional/historical fantasy = 90k to 120k
—> contemporary fantasy = 90k to 100k
—> romantic SF = 85k to 100k
—> urban fantasy = 90k to 100k
—> new weird = 85k to 110k
—> slipstream = 80k to 100k
—> comic fantasy = 80k to 100k
—> everything else = 90k to 100k

 

***

Separate source from above:

Science Fiction and Fantasy lengths for the Nebula awards

Novel – over 40,000

Novella – 17,500 to 40,000

Novelette – 7,500 to 17,500

Short Story – 7,500 or less