Well fair enough on the ‘whatever floats your boat’ side of things, if it’s off theme for you, it’s off theme (and that story is probably off theme for most people, lol).
I’m more happy about my work, by your appraisal, “certainly telling a story”, because this for me is the important bit about writing of any length. I, of course despise long windiness in writing, but that doesn’t stop me reading massive long novels once the story telling is good enough to be immersive.
What gets my goat is, a “9000 word story”, that’s not a 9000 word story. It’s a 6,121 word story in which the hero goes into a room and sees a thing that worries him. Actually no, it’s probably fine…but wait no, what about that thing he saw before? If he thinks about that thing he saw before and now this thing, then that might be worrying… but is he just being paranoid? no, it couldn’t be, he’s being silly, still, isn’t it better to be safe then sorry? hmm… but he’s already here now. It would be really chicken of him to turn back and waste everyone’s time, maybe he should dial ‘nine, one’ and then hold his finger above the last one… nah… things like this don’t happen in real life, he’s sure it’s just his imagination… but how can he be sure? maybe he’s…oh my GOD! JUST SAY “HE’S UNCERTAIN” AND GET ON WITH IT!!!
Where as short things can have a beauty that lingers. Like striking a bell. The strike only lasts a moment, but the resonance rings out.
Fables tend to be quite short, a minutes’s read, but can stick with you your whole life.
Screen plays for single act stage dramas, even certain commercials on TV.
What makes a story is definitely the narrative, and word count is irrelevant to this and serves as little other then as a rough guide to how long it’ll take to read it in real world time.
Now my challenge: Find Robin’s interests and write a 3,993 word story that he will like!
(and finish it with “and then they all had sex”)