NOVELLAS - IN BETWEEN

The easiest explanation, simplistic though it is, is that a novella is longer than a short story, but shorter than a novel. - Robin Storey (1)

(2)

INTRODUCTION

We all love stories. We always have, and will. Sitting down to read a good story is a favorite pastime of man. But in this day and age, it has become less and less likely that we will find the time to do so. And that is why we thrive on information we can digest quickly.

It is no different in literature. Short stories have become quite popular, and so have other genres that are on the shorter side.

Today, we will take a quick look at novellas. A genre that originates from a sunny country in Europe known for pizza and pasta.

NOVELLAS - IN BETWEEN

We all know about novels. Every single one of us must have read at least one in our lives. Funnily enough, despite novels originating from them, novellas are not so well known themselves.

“What are novellas?”, you may be wondering. Novellas are, to put it simply, a narrative prose fiction whose length is shorter than most novels, but longer than most novelettes and short stories. (3)

The English word novella derives from the Italian word novella, meaning a short story related to true (or apparently so) facts. It is a feminine of novello, which means new. (3)

The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association defines a novella's word count to be between 17,500 and 40,000 words. (3)

A BRIEF HISTORICAL OVERVIEW

Novellas began to emerge in literature in sunny Italy in the Italian literature of the early Renaissance, principally by Giovanni Boccaccio. It grew out of a rich tradition of medieval short narrative forms (3). Novellas were also written in Spain.

But it was in the 18th century when the novella began to take its true form with the addition of forms and rules. Germans were the most active writers and to them a novella represented a fictional narrative of indeterminate length (a few pages to hundreds) restricted to a single, suspenseful event, situation, or conflict leading to an unexpected turning point. (3)

The novella influenced the development of the short story and the novel throughout Europe and has its unique characteristics.

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE NOVELLAS

They feature fewer conflicts than a novel, yet more complex conflicts than a short story. They may be divided into chapters, and the white space is used to divide sections. They can be read in one sitting. They often lack subplots and are most often concerned with personal and emotional development. (3)

TO CONCLUDE

Novellas influenced the development of novels and short stories. Their first beginnings took place in Italy and developed into a full genre in the 18th century. They are shorter than novels, yet longer than novellettes and short stories. There are fewer conflicts and subplots than in a novel, yet th conflicts are more complex than in a short story.

SOURCES

1. Robin Storey. Novellas – Why Readers And Authors Love Them. Available at https://www.storey-lines.com/2017/08/08/novellas-readers-authors-love/

2. Image created via canva.com.

3. Wikipedia. Novella. Available at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Novella