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There’s a series of decisions that you, the author, must make when writing a fantasy book (or any other kind of novel). One of them is exactly how many words said book should have. How then do you know how many it should have at a minimum? Well, we’ll dive into the average fantasy novel word count so you have an idea on how long your book ought to be.
The word count of a novel literally states how many words it is. When writing it in a word processing document, the word count appears at the bottom of the document and tracks every word you make. You can turn it off if you desire though it can be pretty helpful since it helps you keep track of your progress.
There’s one thing to be aware of in regard to the average fantasy novel word count and that would be it depends on the exact genre your story is in. The fantasy genre is pretty broad and there are a number of sub-genres with it and the word count for each is different. However, keep in mind that there’s a number of different factors that determine the word count.
It’s important to strike the right balance in terms of the word count. If it’s too low, your story might feel rushed. If it’s too high, reading it might feel like a chore. You want to find the sweet spot between the two polar extremes.
You might be wondering, does word count really matter in the end? Both yes and no. Yes, because it sets a goal, especially since your book will be competing against others in the sub-genre and you want it to be within the ballpark of what’s expected for that sub-genre. No, because you want it to use as many words as you need to tell your story the right way.
This is number fifteen in the series looking at writing a fantasy book. We have many more for you to check out and you can find them on our blog page.
The average fantasy novel word count is entirely dependent on the type of story you’re telling as well as that of the sub-genre it takes place in. One of the first things to do after you’ve settled on what your story is is to figure out which sub-genre to place it in. This is crucial, for each one has a different word count.
There are a ton of smaller niches within fantasy, too many to count, so we’ll simply take a look at the largest four. These four sub-genres attract the most attention, and thus more books. If your book isn’t one of these four, go online and do some research. It shouldn’t take too long before you find the answer you’re looking for!
The first of the four is epic fantasy. This is the granddaddy of them all and the one that gets the most attention. “The Lord of the Rings” is such one. These are the most time-consuming to read since they delve deeply into worldbuilding and feature multiple sprawling storylines. Many books within this group tend to have sequels, essentially becoming series that, if you combine them all, can go above a thousand pages. The usual word count for epic fantasy novels is has a staggering range of 150,000 to 200,000 with an average of 175,000.
Next up is high fantasy novels. They lean more into the magical aspect of the genre, delving into worlds brimming with magic. They explore systems of magic and magical objects are a driving force behind many of the stories in this sub-genre. The “Harry Potter” series is a great example of this. While not as sprawling as epic fantasy, high fantasy is a powerhouse in its own right, boasting a word count that goes from 80,000 to 150,000 and the average is 115,000.
The third sub-genre is urban fantasy. This group fuses fantasy elements with modern-day settings, essentially showing how fantasy impacts modern societies. This is a sharp contrast to the majority of the genre where many stories take place in medieval times. Again, the “Harry Potter” series falls within this group. It can range from 70,000 to 120,000 words with an average of 95,000.
Finally, the fourth group is dark fantasy novels. Unlike many other sub-genres that deal with the ‘lighter’ side of things, this one explores its darker side and features more mature content. Overall, many dark fantasy books have a word count that ranges from 80,000 to 150,000 and the average is 115,000.
Even though they’re guidelines, you don’t have to necessarily stick with them. They’re just to give you an idea of what to expect. The next section will dig deep into what goes into the word count.
There’s many things that constitute the average fantasy novel word count and we’ll explore what they are here. You have to keep in mind that no two stories are the same which means that you can’t really compare them in terms of the word count. The objective here is to find the right amount that works best for your novel.
The first thing is the author’s vision. This is arguably the most important one for how the author envisions his story will heavily determine how many words it’ll have. For authors who want to incorporate extensive worldbuilding and multiple major storylines into their novels, they’ll want a higher one compared to those who have a low-key approach to worldbuilding and smaller major storylines.
Exactly how detailed you want to get will also impact the word count. Do you want to get down into granular details or do you want to go for broad strokes? The former will take you higher than the average fantasy novel word count and the latter will take you below.
One reason why you might see a higher than usual average fantasy novel word count is due to characters. The number of key characters in your novel matter a great deal. Generally speaking, the more major characters you have, the more scenes they’ll appear in which in turn drives up the word count. Nearly all of these characters have their own storyline that run in tandem with the main plot which can also impact the word count.
Another factor that affects the word count is whether your book is a standalone or the first in a series. While you can tie everything all up in one book, some authors like to continue their stories since they want to see where their characters go. A standalone book may only have 100,000 or less words whereas a series could go all the way over 500,000 — that is if you combine every single novel within the series into one book. That would definitely take a long time to read!
The last thing that plays a role in the word count is the number of plot lines in your novel. Much like characters, the more plot lines you have, the higher the word count will go. You have to also factor the arc of each plot line, since some might span a full half or start at the first page and end at the very last page. Some authors favor sprawling storylines that span multiple books which of course will push the number of words way up.
Now that you have an idea on the average fantasy novel word count, you might be thinking is it really important? In the grand scheme of things, no it isn’t. Nevertheless, you shouldn’t dismiss it entirely for it can be quite useful in the right context.
One reason why it doesn’t matter is you want to take as many words as you need to in order to tell your story right. If it’s too low, your readers might feel like something’s missing and if it’s too high, they might think you just added fluff to pump up the word count. Both scenarios will hurt your book which is why you have to tell your story in however many words you need to. You want your novel to feel complete and that every word you used serves a purpose from beginning to end.
Another reason why it’s not all that important is that most people read books because they like the stories that take place within them. The number of words doesn’t matter as long as it’s a good tale that gets you invested in the characters and their adventures.
What do you do when you go to the bookstore to buy a book you haven’t read? You look at the front cover to see if it catches your eye. You then take it off the shelf to read the back cover to see what it’s about. You might flick through the pages to see how many pages it has to decide whether you want to buy it or not. At no point in this process do you think about how many words it has.
On the other side of the coin, there are times where the average fantasy novel word count can be helpful. One such time is to help you set a goal. By finding out the word count of other books within the sub-genre, you can figure out the approximate number of words yours should have and work towards it. This can help you see how long it’ll take you to finish writing the first draft.
Another time it matters is that your book will be competing against the other books in the sub-genre your tale is in. You want your novel to be close to the others in terms of the word count expected for the sub-genre. If it’s a little higher or lower, it’s fine as long as it’s within the ballpark.
Even though the word count may appear at the bottom of the word-processing document you’re writing your book in, it’s not much more than keeping track of how many words you’ve typed so far. However, if you’re aiming to reach the average fantasy novel word count, then it’s important because you know how much progress you’ve made thus far.
Within the fantasy genre is a myriad number of sub-genres. These smaller niches have different expectations for how many words books should have so you want to conduct some research to give yourself an idea on what to expect.
Also keep in mind that there’s a number of things that affect the word count. Things like the number of major characters or plot lines can significantly amp up the number of words. You want to find the right amount for the story you want to tell.
The average fantasy novel word count matters in some areas and not in others. It doesn’t matter because you should use as many words as you ought to tell your story. However, it can be pretty useful since it gives you a goal to strive towards.
Knowing the average fantasy novel word count of the ones in the sub-genre yours will be in can help you craft an amazing story that feels just right, so what are you waiting for?
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