What Makes Short Stories Different from Novels On Paper?

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Writing a short story is undoubtedly different from writing a novel, but what makes it unique?

A collection of short stories on Clements’ book could help define what makes short stories so different. Clements (full name Brian Clements) and his books are often anthologies of short stories and poems he had written. His short stories often focus on detective tales and mysterious circumstances with murder on the side. 

Today, we’ll be talking about Brian Clements’ book titled 

Anthology Of Short Stories And Poems II as a basis as we discover what makes short stories different from novels and other.

Brief Explanation of What a Short Story Is

Writing has a different style from writing a novel. Although both types of storytelling share a few classes, making a short story needs an entirely different application and approach. It’s a short story’s job to stimulate the artistry of telling stories that deliver an entire experience to the readers gracing through their pages.

Does Writing Short Stories Benefit a Person’s Overall Writing?

People looking to promote their writing skills while expanding their experience can benefit significantly from writing short stories. Many literary magazines routinely publish short stories from different kinds of writers. In some instances, some magazines even pay authors as thanks for letting them publish their work.

Now, competitions that focus on short story writing competitions and they will charge participants for free, such as the literary magazines that offer monetary prizes and exposure; others don’t have this kind of deal. In some instances, academic competitions will give participants feedback regarding their submitted entries.

Remember that if one writes short stories enough times, they can put their short stories into some anthology, similar to a collection of short stories on Clements’ book. Another option is to collaborate with other authors who also tell stories in the same genre as your short stories exist in. Both authors can then proceed to create a vast collection of short stories.

Numerous Differences Between Novel and Short Story Writing

• Let’s start looking at the most obvious disparity between a novel and short story writing, which is the word count of the tale. Short stories are around 20,000 words and anything beyond the 20,000 words mark becomes a novella. There is also something called “Flash Fiction,” short stories with less than 1,000 words.

• Typically, short stories focus on a singular crisis or event, compared to novels with way more time and word counts to explore multiple phenomena and have an intricate plot. Another thing to note is that a single event typically happens within a short time frame like it might take place in a single day, but some short stories are often fast-tracked to convey that the tale has been happening for quite some time.

• Similar to single events, short stories usually have fewer scenes than novels. Short stories frequently occur in a single place rather than spread to multiple areas. That’s one of the beauties of short stories because it can happen in one location, but that doesn’t mean the author can’t play around with it.

• When it comes to structuring, successful short stories follow Freytag’s Pyramid structure, with a start, middle and end, or exposition, critical point, climax, falling action and denouement. Rarely, short stories will have the time to try and tell a more elaborate story.

• There are fewer characters available in the pages of a short story. Short stories tend to introduce only one antagonist and protagonist compared to novels, where numerous characters are introduced. Due to its brevity, little time exists for readers to be connected and acquainted with a large cast of members.

• It’s possible to finish short stories in one sitting, giving the readers a complete experience. Whenever the reader is done with a short story, the beginning and the middle of the tale stay in the reader’s mind.

• Compared to a novel that carries its message across multiple acts, events, characters, reading sessions, and crises, short stories have a more condensed meaning to tell. The author’s job is to infuse sense into the story with fewer words.

Now that you know what makes a short story different, it’s time to get a collection of short stories on Clements’ book and read them. We guarantee that Brian Clement’s short stories and poems will have you hooked!