Writing Forum

I think it can be very useful to categorize stories by length since it's quite obvious you can't do the same thing in short story and a 200K novel.
Each character, setting, and plotline adds to the word count, so if you try to stuff 20 POV characters into a novella, then it isn't going to feel very well developed. On the other hand, I feel that the shorter the piece the more experimental the writer can be without boring the reader (apparently Warren Cariou thinks otherwise).

Is the novella an ill-defined banana republic? Possible.
First of all there aren't a set limit for when a story is a flash fiction, short story, novelette, novella, or novel. It depends on who you ask (I generally go by the SFWA definitions since I write speculative fiction). Secondly, a short novella will probably read more like a short story/novelette than a long novella which will probably read like a novel with a narrow scope or condensed storyline. Thirdly, some people don't even recognize novelettes as a category, meaning novellas can stretch even more in length, adding even more complexity to what a novella is like.

Furthermore, it used to be that novellas were if not more common then at least as common to find in a bookshop as novels, but things like TV series which made us accustomed to switching POVs and thereby lengthier books, and the fact that people want value for money (which more pages for the same price usually looks to be) has made novellas quite uncommon compared to not just novels but lengthy novels and series.
So when you see novellas in your local bookshop, they're usually in the classic section or written by very well established authors who will sell well no matter the size of their book.

To add further complexity to the category of novellas, books of this length is selling particularly well as e-books, often as part of a series. It seems to be the right length for people reading digitally.

What I'm trying to say is, yes, novellas can seem like a strange category, but I also think it can be very useful to know what the different story lengths allows you to do.


Join the discussion at https://tobybackman.wordpress.com