You Don't Choose the Length of your Story

[Cee-Jay Aurinko]

If you consider yourself an actual writer (published/unpublished) then you probably know about all the various lengths of fiction: flash fiction, short stories, novellettes, novellas, novels, trilogies, and finally, series).

As a writer who is just beginning--writing his very first professional sentence--it might be a wise choice that you Climb the Ladder of Fiction Lengths before you take on that big novel idea of yours. This is very hard for any aspiring novelist to do, especially when he/she likens him/herself to the next Tolkien or King.

But the benefits of climbing the Ladder (starting from the bottom ) should be apparent; building writing credit, winning awards along the way, so that one day, when you do submit that novel-length manuscript of yours to the big-name publishers, you'll have yourself a very promising author biography, thus selling your novel more easily.

However, my own experiences with "starting from the bottom" has led me to the undeniable reality that whatever story you put down on paper literally has a mind of its own. It can choose to be flash, short, novel, or even a trilogy. You as writer is just the car, that story idea of yours is the one who is doing the driving.

A have a story idea which obnoxiously wants to be turned into a novel; I don't have a choice in the matter. Should I finish my novel even though I have nothing behind my name, or should I keep writing shorter tales for that beautiful author bio?

[H_M_Mcghee]

I believe that a story is not told until the reader has been satisfied. And by saying that, I'm not expressing that all writing should be focused on WHO will read it. Writing can be viewed as a job, or as enjoyment. Storytelling is a craft. So, in response to your question, how do YOU feel about that story idea? Are you writing it to promote your bio, or are you writing it because it WANTS to be written? I've written stories that were limited by word count, and I've written stories that just kept going on and on because the story wasn't finished. Additionally, I've discovered that limiting your writing feels more like a job, but in doing so, you practice the perfection of your craft. My advice...treat your novel like a huge batch of homemade spaghetti sauce (or whatever food simile you prefer -- Finish the novel, and then let it simmer on the back burner for a while. Continue writing those shorter tales to boost your profile, and then every once in a while, come back and stir your sauce (the novel, I mean...). I think that there's a balance between creatively getting an idea out of your head, and giving yourself deadlines and goals. Both enhance you as a writer, and both will serve you well in your future.

[KS Crooks]

Don't limit your imagination by being fixated on story length. Granted everyone goes into a story with the a notion of the length it may be; but the hope is when writing is that the story will in part write itself. If you have ideas that develop into a novel of 80 000, 100 000 or more words then go with it. The novel can be something on the side that you do to take a break from your other writing, say one weekend a month. You sound like you have a lot of ideas. Perhaps write what you will enjoy doing, regardless of the length it may become.

[zeldas_lullaby]

OK, call me ignorant, but what are writer's credits? How do you get them? I should know this, but I'm not following.

[moderntimes]

First of all, Leon, nobody starts with short fiction and "moves up" to longer fiction. Each type of fiction stands on its own, and each is just as hard to write. Novelists rarely begin with a short story career. They may have written shorts but those aren't stairsteps to longer works. They just are.

I've written for years. I've written for a newspaper (articles, interviews, accounts of boring city council meetings, etc.). I've written magazine articles too (and got paid for them, real money). I've written a few decent short stories, some of them sold. And I've just finished my 3rd novel in a private detective series. The first 2 were purchased and published, and the new novel is now at the publisher. So although I'm a low level "success" (I have been paid actual money for my writing) I am a zillion light years from being the dream we all have, making a real living on my fiction. But I'm not exactly a newbie, either.

You're correct -- you don't "choose" the length of your story. I'd written some okay short stories and was "afraid" to try a full length novel because I was intimidated by the length -- "No way I can do this!"

But when I actually started, the words flowed and flowed and suddenly I was looking at 65,000 words (ideal for a private eye novel) and then I wrote 2 more. And I'm working on the 4th novel now.

But it's a common beginner's concept that writing a novel is more difficult than a short story. It's not. They are equally difficult for different reasons. It takes consummate skill to pare down a single concept and put it into a short story that is a single arc of idea. And conversely, it takes an equal amount of skill to prepare a long series of plot arcs and tie them together into a novel.

Don't let yourself be intimidated by the imagined difficulty of writing a novel. Just go for it, and if you've got a novel "inside you" you'll soon find this out.

[zeldas_lullaby]

I agree with that. I'm great at writing full-length novels, but short stories are NOT my friends. I'm awful at writing short stories.

[Morgan Jones]

The many times I wished my story to remain beneath that 30,000 word count, but sadly failing. I understand you, each story really has a mind of its own. The only solution is to let it be then maybe edit it later to fit the word count you set for yourself or someone set it for you.

[Sushan Ekanayake]

Thank you for the post. I only knew about short stories, novels, trilogies and serieses before this. Thank you for that enlightenment

[rave_2]

Based on personal experience, I couldn't agree more that a story has a mind of its own. I was going to have a recent story of mine (which is part of a series) be an actual novel, but it decided it wanted to be a novella.

Another thing- you don't climb any ladder when writing fiction.

[elivia05]

When painting, you have to be cautious to prevent yourself from adding too much detail. Overworking the canvas with paint can make the end result look messy. I think the same applies to a story. You have to know when to stop writing because sometimes the best piece of art is the one with more negative space.

[PlanetHauth]

First of all, Leon, nobody starts with short fiction and "moves up" to longer fiction. Each type of fiction stands on its own, and each is just as hard to write. Novelists rarely begin with a short story career. They may have written shorts but those aren't stairsteps to longer works. They just are.

I absolutely agree with this. The story types aren't a ladder or staircase where mastering one leads to the other. Each one has its own pros and cons, and mastering them may make you a great writer, but it doesn't mean you then have the tools and abilities to automatically write another.

If you want to write a novel, write it. If you want to write short stories, write them. Don't think you need one in order to do the other. Research your prefered story length and just write.