Is My Idea a Short Story or a Novel?
- Cully Perlman
- Aug 5
- 6 min read
When I first started writing, the first thing I wrote was a novel. Or, rather, I wrote horrific poetry, and then I wrote a novel. The reason I tackled a novel instead of a short story was because I enjoyed novels and had no preconceived notion or understanding that novels were harder to write than short stories (something not everyone agrees with). One question you must ask yourself is this: Is My Idea a Short Story or a Novel? Having written and published both short stories and a novel and written about ten other novels I’m currently working on, for me, anyway, short stories are easier to write. And that’s for several reasons, primarily these:
Short stories are, well, shorter
The time commitment for writing a short story, again, for me, is less than that of writing a novel. I’ve been working on one particular novel for twenty-three years. I revisit it every couple years, revise it, then put it away again because I just don’t think it’s quite ready for the world. I have other novels whose first draft I’ve written in three weeks, which I then revise for years. But short stories I can write in a day, revise it for some days afterwards, and then move on. They don’t require my devotion for months the way a novel does. But I rarely try to get my short stories published. It’s just not my interest.
The scope and complexity of the work
My goal in fiction is always to write something political or at least to put forth something about familial relationships gone wrong. This may be the psychological damage parents put on children or on siblings or extended family in some way. It may be about how bad actors in government (sound familiar and contemporary right now?) take steps toward influencing or taking over the normal aspects of normal governments, whatever that means. And this takes me time. I can’t do that in five or ten or twenty pages. I need the build-up. I need to explore my characters and their motivations. I’m just not skilled enough to do that in so few pages.
. . . short stories I can write in a day, revise it for some days afterwards, and then move on. They don’t require my devotion for months the way a novel does
The theme(s) of the work
What’s the underlying message I’m trying to communicate? Is it faith versus doubt? Government overreach/government against the people? Man/woman versus self? Revenge? For me, it’s likely a good combination of all of those and various/many? more. It’s just how I write, and from what I’ve read, most writers are (intentionally or not) doing the same. i.e., incorporating more than a few themes, either in their shorter works or their novels. Shorter works tend to possess fewer themes, which is natural given less space within which to develop those themes. So, what are you trying to convey? The short works I enjoy—from Raymond Carver, Hemingway, Edgar Allen Poe, George Saunders (in particular his Tenth of December), Flannery O’Connor and others, dive deeply and quickly into morality, empathy, the search for meaning, social commentary, the human condition, and masculinity and femininity, and, well, violence as well as appearance versus reality. I can’t do that to the level I want, hence my desire to write longer works.
The ability for deeper exploration of the subject
My short stories (listed below, and sadly I have few links for as the magazines seem to have either gone kaput or are print only), are quick (most of them) gut punches. Because I only have five hundred words or a thousand or two thousand words to get my story published, I’m limited in what I can accomplish. So, I choose pain. Or loss. Or mental anguish. I focus on one or two themes, one or two characters, and then go from there. I put them in situations that allow for quick trouble and quick resolutions. Not so in my novels. In my novels, I develop the narratives over time. I add some twists and turns. I put in long scenes that add to the plot, to character development, to theme. In my novel, The Losses, which is composed of six interrelated novellas, I tackle sexual abuse of children, Alzheimer’s, identity and loss of self, corporate competition, and sexual orientation. I wouldn’t be able to do that in a short story. Maybe you can; who knows? But that’s just not something I can accomplish. At least not with any enjoyment to the reader.
Bull Men’s Fiction – A Three-Legged Table
Connotation Press – Three Stories
Stupid, Stupid Hospital
A Broken Heart is a Broken Heart
Nurse
Creative Loafing – The Tabaquero’s Squirrel (Fiction Contest Winner)
Tower Journal – Sad Lonely People
Avatar Review – Baggage
St Petersburg Review – Let’s Not Talk About Money
El Portal – City of Crosses
Real South Magazine – Glennville
Shorter works tend to possess fewer themes, which is natural given less space within which to develop those themes
The passage of time
My novels (and I’d argue most novels) tend to take readers on a trip over a relatively expansive period of time. Think a Hundred Years of Solitude, Roots, Moby Dick, Wuthering Heights. This is not to say that novels that take place in one day don’t exist: think of James Joyce’s Ulysses, which takes place over a single day but is over seven hundred pages. Short stories can do the same, but their time scale will be much more compact due to word count limitations. As a writer, you’ll need to figure out how to explain the passage of long periods of time, which isn’t that easy. Novels provide you the space and time to do that more effectively. Or over many pages rather than fewer. It’ll definitely be a skill you’ll have to hone if you’re a short story writer.
So, what’s your idea going to be? Are you going to be able to compact your story into a few pages? Limit your scope while also providing your readers with a journey worth devoting a few minutes or an hour to? Or are you going to require two hundred plus pages to say what you want to say? Honestly, it’s up to you. You may set out to write a novel and realize you can say what you want to in three thousand words because you peter out. Or, you may start with a kernel of a story that turns out to be a hundred thousand words. My advice: ride the wave, wherever it takes you. You never know, not really, how the novel or short story will turn out. It just may be something other than what you were setting out to do.
Word count
Word count’s a funny thing, as it dictates who’ll publish what, as well as who will consider representing you if you write a novel. According to literary agent Mark Gottlieb:
Short Stories and Flash Fiction: These concise narratives typically range from 1,000 to 20,000 words. The brevity of short stories allows authors to convey powerful messages or evoke emotions in a compact space.
Novellas: Falling between short stories and full-length novels, novellas usually have word counts from 20,000 to 50,000 words. They provide a focused exploration of a single narrative, making them ideal for quick, immersive reads.
Standard Novels: Most novels fall within 70,000 to 100,000 words. This word count range is often considered the sweet spot for balancing in-depth character development and plot complexity while maintaining reader engagement.
Epic Novels: Epic fantasies and historical sagas often exceed 100,000 words and can range to 200,000 words. These lengthy narratives allow for intricate world-building, extensive character arcs, and intricate plotlines.
Non-Fiction: The word count for non-fiction books varies widely based on the subject matter and target audience. Self-help books, memoirs, and business guides typically range from 40,000 to 80,000 words, while academic or reference works may exceed 100,000 words.
Cully Perlman is an author and blogger. He can be reached at Cully@novelmasterclass.com