What is the difference between a novel and a short story?
The difference between a novel and a short story:
There is a clear difference between a novel and a short story, It’s not just about word count, It is about the size and depth of prose, Short stories have their own art form, As for the novel, it is a very daunting task, It is a journey, Not just for the characters, but for the writer and the reader.
The concept of the novel and the short story:
Novel:
It is a newly emerging literary art and a long literary text, It is characterized by listing a large group of events that are divided into several chapters, It contains a very large number of characters, of which the main and the other are minor, The characters of the novel may be fictional or they may be real, The events of the novel take place in strange and imaginary places and circumstances, The author of the novel is called a “novelist”, The novel may take several years to complete its writing, To build the right climax and connect events that build the story, The themes of the novel vary between historical, psychological, emotional, moral, professional, religious, and letters, Mystery and excitement, fantasy, and many more.
Short Story:
It is a short literary text, It includes one major event that often expresses a life situation, The latest story is narrated by a few characters opposite the novel, However, the story needs a lot of effort so that its writer can complete it in a short time, Its writer also aims to deliver a certain message to readers in a short time so he does not prolong the narration of events, The writer of the story is called a “short story writer”, Its topics vary between: Action, comedy, fantasy, crime, adventure, epics, biography, horror, historical, romantic, and science, political, philosophical, religious, and civilizational fiction, and many more.
What is the difference between a novel and a story?
Length and duration:
Length is the most obvious difference between a novel and a short story, and although there are no specific rules about the length of a novel or shortstory, the differences appear in…
The novel is bigger and longer than the short story, A novel needs more time to write.
The idea of the novel is complicated, So you can narrate the events in detail.
In a novel it’s easy to lose track of your writing; you should keep chapter summaries in a spreadsheet to organize your chapters and scenes.
If your story is too long, You have to increase the pace and speed of the narrative, To convince the reader to continue reading as speed is affected by the number of plot events.
The length of the story ranges between 1500-30000 words, The novel starts at 50,000 words and can be even more.
Plots and subplots:
The novel includes several subplots and one complex main plot, The story is limited to one main plot.
In the novel you don’t need a lot of events, You need more development for the events you have.
The events of the novel are interspersed with several turns and shifts in the narrative of events, each part of which represents a plot that may culminate the events.
The climax in the novel is numerous and varied, The story involves one main climax.
The climax is considered to be the central turning point in the story; the peak of tension and conflict that occurred in reaction to previous conflicts.
The novel includes several chapters in its story, Unlike a story that narrates its events in a few pages, it is not divided into chapters.
Subplots can be used in both short stories and novels, But they are mostly used in novels, Because they are parallel stories that go hand in hand.
Complexity of the conflict:
The conflict in short stories is simple and can be resolved quickly, The conflict usually focuses on one aspect of the character’s life, Or one aspect of a problem or relationship in a character’s life.
The conflict in the novel is deeper and the ideas are wider in more than one direction, and the difference is in the size of the problem and how easy it is to solve it.
Depth:
The biggest difference between a short story anda novel is how deep the writing is.
The novel is characterized by being deeper in dealing with characters, details and ideas, They also carry multiple perspectives very easily.
The short story is similar to the novel, in the ability to take up the powerful words and the resonance that leaves it, But what distinguishes the short story is the brevity in dealing with the meaning, which creates a greater impact without being told more like a novel.
Personalities:
The short story does not have to include a large number of characters, It is possible to settle for the main character to narrate its events.
But the novel needs a large number of characters to narrate its events, You may need more than one personality to serve their message.
Place:
The events of the novel are long, so they cover a large period of time that may extend to months and years, so we find that its events are narrated in different places.
