Fairy tale duration varies. They might be a few pages long or many chapters long. Choose a duration that allows you to fully investigate your subject. A fairy tale can often be expanded into a novel. There are two ways of looking at a short story: as a small story that has a beginning, a middle and an end, or as a miniature drama. Either way of viewing it is acceptable in theory but in practice they tend to be written with the first approach in mind. A short story must have a clear ending and a tight plot, otherwise it cannot be considered complete. This means that even a short story needs a beginning, a middle and an end. In practice, most short stories are written over one continuous scene that changes from moment to moment and which the reader follows from start to finish. However, there are times when the author will divide up the scene into smaller sections or episodes; these may be natural divisions in time (such as morning, afternoon, and night) or they may be caused by actions within the story (a character goes from room to room). These section breaks help the reader follow the action more easily by breaking it up into distinct units. Some writers prefer to write their stories in paragraphs while others use sentences.