Debate: Do strict character limits help or hurt creative writing?

I found that sticking to a 100-word limit for my flash fiction forced me to cut every unnecessary word but then my beta readers said the story felt rushed and lacked depth so which side do you fall on for using tight word counts as a tool?

3 comments

3 Comments

lisa_bennett8d ago

Trim it down but keep the soul. I'd aim for 200 words instead.

-1

fisher.reese8d ago

Totally agree with @lisa_bennett, cutting it down to the core story works every time. Did the same thing with a personal post last month and it finally got the reaction I was hoping for.

miles_perez8d agoMost Upvoted

Actually trying that exact thing last year worked way better than I expected. Had a blog post that was dragging on forever, cut it from 900 words down to around 180. Kept the main point and the one story that made it feel human. Got way more comments and shares after trimming the fat. So yeah, sticking to 200 and focusing on the heart of it sounds like a solid plan to me.