Novels vs. Short Stories
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 10 ก.ค. 2024
- How do novels and short stories differ? It's more than just word count.
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Credit to SkyDilen for my video intro.
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I'm not a short story reader and love being drawn into more profound stories and worlds. However, I'm trying to learn to write short stories as an exercise before I begin writing a novel. Because of my background, however, I'm not having a lot of luck. Your video was helpful, though I may end up skipping short stories.
No worries. Gotta write what you love
This video was so good! it was life changing. thank you for being so clear in your content.
Glad it helped!
Hey there Brandon. I'm out of practice when it comes to writing in short form, so this video was a real big help. As far as my preferences go, I do enjoy writing novels more because it lets me explore situations and characters in a lot more detail, whereas I like to read stories on the short side more just because it lets me take a peak into a new world or situation and jump back out if I don't end up liking it very much. I have a hard time dropping things and leaving them unfinished even if I don't like them, so short stories alleviate my worries in that regard. Also, if I like what I see with an author's short stories, I tend to go digging for their novels later because I want more!
Yeah I much prefer reading/writing novels, but short stories make for a nice low-investment break from time to time. Sometimes they even turn into something more. My debut novel actually stemmed from a flash fiction piece I wrote one random morning haha
@@WriterBrandonMcNulty Ha! I know that feeling. Something that's supposed to be seven pages turns into twenty-four, then into sixty, then so on and so forth. It's a real neat experience discovering how much story was waiting under the surface of something much smaller. Kinda like finding buried treasure while gardening.
@@ImusakHctividar That's my favorite part of the writing process--discovery and connecting one idea to the next. It's a shame that almost every other part of the process is so brutal haha
Thanks for making this video!
Glad it was helpful!
I learned a lot, thanks for a very informative video
Thrilled to hear! Let me know if there are any other subjects you'd like me to cover. I'm open to requests!
Very informative. Thank you. Subscribed✨
Glad it helped. And thanks! If you ever want me to do a video on a particular subject, let me know!
@@WriterBrandonMcNulty If anything sparks up I'll definitely request for another helpful video. Thank you.
Which of the two do you prefer to read? To write? Let me know!
That's a common problem (even for experienced writers), and the best way to overcome it is to study up on plot structure. Learn about 3 Act Structure or read books like Save the Cat Writes a Novel by Jessica Brody, The Nutshell Technique by Jill Chamberlain, and Story Engineering by Larry Brooks.
Once you understand how plots work, you'll understand how characters react to story problems, when/why they make a choice to change their ways (usually around the midpoint), and when/why they go on the attack to solve their problems. If you understand when/why events should happen, you'll be able to approach the writing process more confidently.
Also, I did a video on The Mandalorian that explains how the Midpoint works and how it makes anti-heroes more likable. Since you're struggling with the middle, it might help: th-cam.com/video/DjzWr51HHjM/w-d-xo.html
Btw I would've responded to you sooner but TH-cam marked your post as spam for some reason. Glad I checked my spam! Let me know if you need any other help
Definitely novels! I love to live with the characters, feel what they're feeling and almost feel like I'm part of the story! Currently reading pride and prejudice by Jane Austin and I'm in live with it
@@zainalrousan1093 Yeah, I greatly prefer novel for the same reasons you mentioned. Haven't read P&P, as I mostly stick to more modern stuff. Plus I write horror, so Jane Austen is waaay out of my comfort zone haha
What a great presentation!
I'm normally not an avid reader of much except instruction manuals..; ) But, I recently discovered a friend of mine who has drawn me into her long text messages of her daily experiences.
I quickly realized, these aren't text messages, these are stories of substance and intrigue, that I didn't want to end!
I'm not sure if she realizes it, perhaps she does, but I have just learned my assumptions may be correct. She is an authentic "Short Story Writer"!
I may be sending her this link! Thank You!! : ))🙂
As a lover of books and stories, this video helped a lot and your advice really did work for me and other tons of people.
You just got a new sub :)
Thrilled to hear! Thanks
Thank you so much
Glad it helped! Let me know if you ever want me to do a video on a specific writing topic
I KNOW THIS IS A LATE COMMENT ON A LATE VIDEO, BUT THANKS FOR THE TIPS YET AGAIN, HOW MANY PAGES AND/OR CHAPTERS WOULD BE 25% OF A NOVEL THOUGH? IS IT SET IN STONE OR DOES IT DEPEND ON THE PERSON AND THEIR PREFERENCES?
I'M ASKING SO I CAN MAKE SURE MY STORY BECOMES A NOVEL IF IT'S NECESSARY.
AND WHY DOES WORD COUNT MATTER SO MUCH TO EDITORS? [OR IS IT JUST SOME DEITITORS]? IS IT LIKE THEM THINKING "THIS NOVEL IS TOO WORDY, THEREFORE IT'S AWFUL!" OR SOMETHING? [ESPECIALLY FOR THE HORROR NOVELS]. I ASKED THIS, NOT ONLY BECAUSE OF WHAT YOU SAID, BUT I AM IN THE PROCESS OF WORKING ON MY OWN HORROR STORY.
SORRY FOR ANY GRAMMAR/SPELLING MISTAKES IF ANY ARE PRESENT.
Your novel's length with vary, so that 25% is going to vary. If you're writing a horror novel, it might be 80,000 words. So then 25% would be 20,000 words. If you novel is longer or shorter, you would adjust the 25% amount as needed.
The 25% is just a guideline btw. Your 1st Act might be 20% or 28%. Doesn't have to be perfect
Word count matter because of market & genre expectations. Think about movies... Rom-Coms and Horror movies are usually around 90 mins. If you go to see a Horror movie and it's 120 mins, it might feel bloated or dragged out because the length doesn't meet the audience's expectation.
Hey thanks a lot ... I was searching and I got you... Love from India..❤️
You're welcome! Best of luck with your writing!
good video Brandon, I was wondering if you could expand on plot structure and ideas for short stories
Gotcha. I'll mull this over and get a video out there in the next couple weeks.
And just to be clear, by ideas you mean "How do you come up with ideas for short stories?"
@@WriterBrandonMcNulty yes and structuring it. Because I like writing short stories but I feel my ideas might be too big for a short story
@@williamdetweiler1933 Gotcha. I'll include something like "Is your idea too big?" in the video.
@@williamdetweiler1933 Hey just released a new video on Short Story Plot Structure. Hope it helps, and let me know if you have any questions! th-cam.com/video/STVF_EhRopI/w-d-xo.html
@@WriterBrandonMcNulty that was a good video. Do you think a story about a deal is a good short story or would it be better as a novel?
This helps
Glad to hear--thanks for watching!
i would say short stories are more metaphoric than novels
Typically, yeah. You have to cram a lot of meaning into that 7000-word (or less) package, so it's inevitable
I usually prefer reading novels. I have written several short stories, but have not written a novel yet.
Hyy I'm from India 🇮🇳, I'm a student, i was searching meanwhile i found this video I've got it but i need more clearly with animation. if you can show in your video it could be more helpful for me . By the thanks for making this video ❤❤ .
I like it
Thanks for watching!
Are there four tries or just three?
how many characters should a novelette have?!
Totally depends, but I would say somewhere between 3-6 is ideal.
@@WriterBrandonMcNulty Thank you.
Anytime!
How many chapters we can include in short stories? I thought of including 22 chapters without exceeding 10000 words. Is it right?
There's no hard limit on chapters/sections in a short story, but short stories are usually less than 7,500 words (sometimes less than 6,000 words, depending on who you ask)
@@WriterBrandonMcNulty I'm having a major doubt for example The lottery by Shirly jackson if the short story is only for 8-9 pages. How can it be a book? whether a book with 9 pages..!!! I'm having clarity in novel but not in short story. To release a book a only one short story with 7500 words will be fine? or what is mean by short story collection. Could you please clarify my doubts
@@niranjchanramanathan6938 "The Lottery" is a short story. Any story of that length is a short story. Where are you seeing it referred to as a book?
@@niranjchanramanathan6938 A short story COLLECTION would be a book containing several short stories
@@WriterBrandonMcNulty Thank you so much I just misunderstood
Flat characters:characters are usually just revealed but not developed.
Does this belong to short stories or Novels ?
Both. Flat characters are usually there to populate your story/novel's world and serve the plot and worldbuilding.
Usually only your main character, antagonist, and major supporting characters are developed.
@@WriterBrandonMcNulty thank you 🙏☺️
@@mich0378 Anytime. If you ever want to request a video, let me know!
Why do editors kill you for the horror book over 80000 words?
Pacing is critical to horror, and tense, brutal, fast-paced novels typically work best at shorter lengths. You can certainly write a longer horror novel but the expectation for newer writers tends to be less than 80k
@@WriterBrandonMcNulty ohh OK thank you