from running the 6 word story group on Flickr, here’s what we’ve come up with:
A single word is any entry in the dictionary.
Hyphenated words shouldn’t count as a single word because you can fit many words into a description. “Crazy-like-a-monkey” isn’t a single word, it’s a one-thought-adjective such as we use for the personal age adjective in “twelve-year-old boy.” However, there are single words with hyphens They usually have prefixes like ex- (ex-husband), re- (re-entry), all- (all-inclusive) or self- (self-evident). Best to avoid hyphenation if you have any doubts. Or, let it fly and see how we count it.
Contractions count as single words, so if you’re really seeking word economy (as you should be), keep this in mind. If you write, “He will jump,” it’s three words. But if you write, “He’ll jump,” it’s only two. Very economical. By the same token, any contraction that’s a shortened form of a word is also counted as a full word. Like using ‘em for them (as in “I’ll get ‘em!”
An initial also counts as a word (L.L. Bean, e.e. cummings, etc.) since it’s basically an abbreviation of a full word. The only exception is when it’s part of an acronym like MSN, NASA, or IBM. The reasoning here is that the wide use of these acronyms has in effect made them into single words.
Numbers count as words, too, expressed as either numerals (8, 28, 500, or 1984), or as words (eight, twenty-eight, etc.). But keep in mind our potential hyphenated-word rule. “Twenty-eight” is two words when written out, but only one when expressed as 28. Don’t cheat yourself out of an extra word that you may need.
Any punctuation or no punctuation is allowed, and no punctuation marks count as words, so don’t worry about being miserly with them if they work to some effect.
