All my stories used to be quite short, in the 2,000 - 3,500 word range. Now I’m working on slightly longer projects, what I expect to be 5,000 to 10,000 words.

Is there a magic number for word count?

I mean that both in the sense of what people think works in terms of story development and getting published. Is there word-count bogey for litjournals?

For me, the length is always slave to the story demands and how many layers of meaning or plot elements I’m trying to stack.  I think magazine submissions run on a masthead-by-masthead basis, but they’re generally open about their guidelines, and I’d think 2-5k are acceptable almost everywhere.  I’ve written down to 1000 or 1500 words for contests, but at that length, for me, good texture gets too hard to achieve amid the microsurgical wordsmithing, and I’m considered a lean, undertelling sort.  (In my fiction, not posting, obviously.) I can breathe as a reader and writer anywhere from 2500 to 7500 words, with obvious exceptions on either end for anything that works.

I think its right to say that the words must fulfill the story.  If it’s done, it’s done.  I used to go on and on and learned that much more should be left up to the reader, and yet things I knew in my own mind that were vital weren’t being shared.  Readers are your best ally on this.  My first novel attempt gave me a real clue; everyone--and I mean everyone--said it was looooong.  That translated to unnecessary chunks of writing that had no relativity to the story.  Two other studies helped me tremendously in writing; flash (or sudden) fiction, and poetry.  I learned the value of imagery along with the minimal use of words and to describe action, not character.

Same here: the story dictates the length.

As for “the magic number,” I don’t think there is one.  If you search Duotrope or Ralan.com you’ll find ezines that will take any length up to 10k or 15k.  Finding a home for your story is simply a matter of researching your markets.

All the best,
H.