Discover the characteristics and differences that define a novel and a short story and find out which is the best fit for your writings
In order to write great stories, you need to understand the differences (and similarities) between literary forms and genres. Familiarizing yourself with various styles helps you structure and shape your creative writing, and establishes an understanding with your readers.
Length is the main difference between a novel and a short story, but this variable isn’t enough to define the features that set them apart. From the focus to the number of characters, there are other features you need to consider, too. In this article, we compare the characteristics of both in detail.
Why do we define literary genres?
Before we start exploring the differences between these genres (and their sub-genres), it's helpful to understand their purpose.
Essentially, these labels decide the framework authors use to structure their stories; knowing these gives you clear milestones, helping to shapes your structure, tone, and length.
Classifying your genre also tells readers what to expect: for example, science fiction promises a different experience to a period novel. Each genre has its own set of rules on realism and specific tropes that define implicit expectations between the reader and writer, often referred to as a contract.
Novel vs short story: what are the differences?
Novels and short stories are both considered literary works of fiction, and are often distinguished by their length—with novels being the longest form—however, their differences run deeper than that.
Writer, editor, and children's and young adult literature specialist Carola Martínez Arroyo (@carolamart) has written several young adult novels. Two of which—Matilde and Nunca Jamás (Never Again)—won the White Ravens prize, one of the most important awards for children's and young adult literature.
When it comes to differentiating between novels and shorter stories, Carola quotes renowned Argentinian author Julio Cortázar: "Cortázar says that the story is photography and the novel is a feature film."
This neatly summarizes the two fictional genres, and is a good introduction to the five main differences between a novel and a short story:
1. Length
Novels are typically longer than short stories because they require more development. How long? While there's no fixed count, there are guidelines.
Some experts subscribe to the idea that a novel should have a minimum of 100 to 120 pages, others suggest it should be upward of 50,000 words. The general belief is it should take multiple days or weeks to read. When it comes to short stories, Edgar Allan Poe said they should have between 100 and 30,000 words, or take somewhere between half an hour to three hours to read.
However, the genres often intertwine. Some short stories are long enough to be short novels, and some short novels—known as novellas—can be short story length.
So if you can’t rely on length to tell these two genres apart, what are the other features to look for?
2. Focus
Some experts believe short stories focus on a dilemma; something happens and needs to be resolved.
On the other hand, in a novel there might be a stronger focus on developing the lead characters in a more profound way. In this sense, short stories may explore a situation, whereas novels look at characters, their psychology, and their experiences.
One Hundred Years of Solitude by 1982 Nobel Prize for Literature winner Gabriel García Márquez is widely considered a masterpiece of Latin American—and indeed all—literature. It’s one of the most translated and most-read Spanish-language novels telling the story of not just one character, but of multiple generations of characters in one family, exploring the evolution of their ways of thinking and family life.
The development of these traits does not have to happen over a long time, it can happen in a single day or in a few hours, but a novel always provides an extensive description of the events.
3. Number of characters
Typically, in short stories characters are limited to no more than three characters. In this genre, readers get to know the characters through their actions, so when you’re writing a short story, you need to think about actions and scenarios that reveal character traits.
Novels have the space for more character development, which means more background information and description. As readers in this context, we should clearly be able to see how characters evolve between the beginning and the end of the story.
4. Description
Everything in a short story needs to be succinct and precise, which means limiting your use of long descriptive passages.
On the flip side, in a novel, detailed descriptive text can be used to build several scenarios. One good example of this is the novel Pride and Prejudice. It allows readers to step back in time to Victorian England, to discover its settings, its events, its architecture, its fashion... It was first published anonymously on 28 January, 1813 and is now Jane Austen’s most famous work, and considered to be one of the first rom-coms in the history of the novel.
5. Number of plot lines
Short stories usually tell one story and have a single plot. Whereas the main narrative of a novel should always be complemented by various subplots, which develop as new characters and stories join the action.
Both novels and short stories need a plot. One technique authors use is to turn a single event or a moment into a story: a scandal, a betrayal, a murder, an inconsistency, an idyll, a slip, a detour, etc. They achieve this by combining their initial idea or starting point with other related or subsequent incidents based on that plot.
An author’s style is revealed in the way they compile and build their stories. Countless authors have written about the same ideas and even told the same story, but they do so in completely different ways. This reveals a fundamental lesson: the way in which you create the story is much more important than the story itself.
Different genres of novels
As in other literary forms, there are several genres and multiple subgenres of novels. Some of the main areas include:
- Action and adventure: These tales feature action, risk, travel, and exploration.
- Romance: Here the story focuses on love and how it can change our lives.
- Epic fantasy: These novels, generally written in the form of a saga, take place in fictional fantasy worlds.
- Science fiction: Sci-fi novels are based on scientific advances that change the world, such as time or space travel.
- Historical fiction: Stories based on real historical events.
- Crime: Someone has to solve a crime in the course of these stories.
- Horror: Are based on a terrifying event.
- Realistic novels: The characters of these novels face a series of everyday events.
Short stories share the same sub-categories and themes.
What’s best, a short story or a novel?
Novelist Carola Martínez Arroyo explains that genres don’t compete. One is no better than another. They are simply different forms of artistic expression.
How do you decide whether it’s best to write a novel or a short story?
Carola decided to write novels because short stories require the kind of skills and ability to summarize she thinks she lacks. She recommends trying not to work against your own creative nature, and instead reinforcing your strengths. You have to have good self-knowledge, which is best achieved through constant practice and lifelong study.
If your intuition is telling you you’re a fiction writer, check out Carola Martínez' course, Writing a Young Adult Novel, where you'll learn a range of tools to help you start writing and turn your next idea into a great book.
English version by @studiogaunt.
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