Usually, my novel characters, such as Jane or Inez, stay in novel format while my many novella characters stay in novella format. So far, ever since I realized that “Secret Keepers” was getting too long for a novella, I’ve not had any characters ‘crossing over.’ There are a few short stories about my characters (mostly Jane and her friends) in my “The Stories That Weren’t” collection, but that’s all.
Not any longer, though.
After I finished “Theoretical Necromancy Vol. 2” at the end of March, I was still very in love with the shift in relationship between Gabrielle Munson and the gold-tier inquisitor from “Stray”. They meet again in the first story of the second book, “Revenge of the Devil Monks”, and have to work together to survive the meeting with said monks. That, naturally, changes their perception of each other.
After I’d finished the first draft of the second book, I was left with an idea for another story where Gabrielle and he would meet again. At first, I decided to make it the first story of the third novella collection, but I soon realized that, as deep as I wanted to get into the story, it wasn’t going to work in novella format. Therefore, I plotted “The Curse of the Devil’s Voice” as a novel. The plotting is done, the outline is ready for whenever I get around to it and will put it down as a complete novel.
That’s something, I imagine, which will happen more often to me in the future, as I dive deeper into my novella characters. Perhaps it will also happen the other way around - a collection of shorter adventures of Jane or Inez could be possible. A return of Alex in a couple of shorter stories is more likely for me than a second novel about her. I can certainly see that a novel with John or Maddie or Isadora or Jamie and Sherringford might happen at some point.
Different formats, however, don’t just mean different length of text. There is a difference between plotting and writing a novel, a novella, and a short story. Admittedly, novella and novel are more similar in plotting than the short story is to either of them. The novella is, in many ways, the smaller sibling of the novel. Yet, a novel has more and more complicated plot points, needs to balance the tension much better, and has to put more work into world-building and characters, too.
The short story - a format I rarely work with, although I can, is very much focused on a very short look into someone’s life (although flash fiction is even shorter). Here, there’s usually only one plot, there’s not much more space. Character development is either the plot, then the whole story revolves around it, or it’s not there at all. There’s no real time and space for it. On the other hand, with the very strong focus on that one plot, a short story can be very intense - it’s not painted in broad strokes, there’s not much time to evoke imagery and create tension. You drop the reader in and have to build your tension immediately. Then, however, a short story can be a very gratifying read (or listen, should your audience prefer audio books and should you have the chance to make some). I know I’m enjoying a well-crafted short story as much as a novel.
You shouldn’t be too afraid about changing your format. Yes, it will be challenging to write a new one for the first time. I only wasn’t scared when writing my first novel because I wasn’t aware I was doing so - a little advantage of discovery writing; you never know in advance. If you outline your story, you can follow the different plots and the tension, can see if you’re following an upwards curve in general with the tension (it’s more of a sequence of ups and downs, but the general tendency must be up). If you don’t outline your story, your first novel will certainly demand some re-writing later. It can’t be avoided because you won’t be handling things the way you would do otherwise. It’s much easier to start it slower and raise tension bit by bit if you know you’re in for the long run.
It does help to consume stories in various formats, too. Short stories often come in the form of anthologies, novellas might be published as single stories in e-book form (where the actual length of the text plays no role), and novels are widely available everywhere you can get books. Note the difference between a short story and a novel. If you can, read stories about the same character in both formats (traditionally, I can recommend Sherlock Holmes, although Doyle wasn’t too good at novels; from the bottom of my heart, I’d suggest Jonathan L. Howard’s Johannes Cabal stories).
Write a few short stories, if longer formats are your regular deal - I’m enjoying my quick dips into my characters with my “The Stories That Weren’t” collection which is only for me, although I’ve posted one of them on my blog. It’s, of course, harder to do when you normally write short stories and want to tackle a longer format. A short story needs less time to write, so it’s less investment there. Again, outlining first helps here - write an outline for your novella or novel and see how much you’re motivated to write it afterwards. If you are motivated, go for it, no matter how long it takes.
While the difference between a short story and a novel is pretty easy to see, what is the difference between novel and novella? As said above, the novella is the smaller sibling of the novel - they are similar in structure, they both have the time for an introduction and a proper tying up of all loose ends before they finish (something the short story is often missing, due to format). In general, because of its length, the novel can handle a larger cast of characters (but doesn’t have to have one) and it certainly can handle more different plots in it. If you wish to write from multiple character viewpoints, you’re also better off with the novel, because it will afford you enough room for all of them. In numbers, a novella is somewhere between 20,000 and 60,000 words and everything above is a novel, but that’s not a rule, more of a guideline. Novels can be a little shy of 60,000 words and novellas can be a little longer than that.
Yet, very much like the short story, the novella is more ‘on point.’ While it allows you to go into more detail and come up with one or two more intricate plots, it still keeps you focused on one or two things, doesn’t allow you to meander around. It’s a good idea to keep to one viewpoint in a novella while the novel allows for you to spread to more of them if you wish to. Whether that’s wise is another question and depends very much on the story you’re telling.
One reason why I chose to plot “The Curse of the Devil’s Voice” as a novel was that I wanted to have two things running with a lot of time to work on: the further shift of the relationship between Gabrielle Munson and Antonio Velasquez (the aforementioned inquisitor who gets a name at the end of “Revenge of the Devil Monks”) and the actual action plot of the Devil’s Voice. I wanted a slow-raising tension for the action plot and I wanted a good development for the relationship. A novella, even one longer than average for me, wouldn’t have afforded me that. It worked with the Devil Monks because the relationship was shifting alongside the plot - you can’t go on considering someone a mortal enemy when you have to rely on them watching your back. To explore their relationship further, I need more time - and a novel affords me the time.
Don’t be afraid of changing formats, but don’t think it will be super-easy, either. Learn about the format you want to dip into and, if possible, don’t start your first foray into a new format as a story scheduled for professional publication. I actually didn’t consider professional publication until after I’d written my second novel - before that, I published for free. Read different formats to get acquainted with them. If you can, plot your first foray into a new format well. If you can’t (if you’re a discovery writer), be prepared for heavy editing on a later date (but then, you’ll be prepared for that, anyway).
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