The Novella Debate
It is Sven check in day. Go post those totals and give us a little update.
Speaking of update… I’m in the middle of writing a Christmas novella for the Oct. ‘08 anthology release, TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT. Up until this point, most of the novellas I’ve written start with a hero and heroine who do not know each other before page 1 of the story. They meet, fall for each other, overcome some obstacle and more forward all in a very short time. That leads to a how-do-I-write-a-believable-romance-from-start-to-satisfying-ending-in-100+-pages feeling. ‘Cause, really, I need one more writing thing to worry about.
I’m thinking this quickness is why some readers don’t like novellas. They fear there is not enough time to tell the story. I have to disagree. Novellas can be just as satisfying. In fact, I adore novellas - writing and reading them - and am always interested to see how the author is going to fit it all in and make me care. I also wait to see how the author goes about making the relationship about more than quick sex.
Which leads me back to this one… This time around, the hero and heroine know each other. She used to date his law partner. These two have a past. They did not have sparks before. So, the challenge this time is in finding the attraction where there previously was none. Frankly, this is just as hard as starting from scratch in a relationship. Finding the “something new” between my folks - especially since the heroine has lost a lot of weight and I don’t want the hero to come off as a shallow doofus - has been a bit tricky.
Having tried the knew each other before route and the someone new route, I’m not convinced one works better than the other. Will let you know once I get a bit farther along. Will also start publishing some excerpts for the 2008 releases soon. Stay tuned.
November 11th, 2007 at 12:46 pm
I think you hit on the problem that exists even in the “they knew each other” start — if something was keeping them apart, then you STILL have to overcome that in the short period of time/pages, and it’s not always done in a believable way.
Fall in love in 100 pages or Get over a huge problem in 100 pages? Both are equally hard to write and (for many readers, I think) swallow.
November 11th, 2007 at 9:22 pm
I love Novellas because when you don’t have time to read a long book, you can read several. My Mother-in-law used to like the shorter stories best because she could finish them in one setting.
November 11th, 2007 at 11:02 pm
happy veteran days to all.
November 12th, 2007 at 5:13 am
I love novellas. Like Jane said, they are fast reads when you need a quick fix, and some authors are good at writing convincing ones. One thing that seems to work is if the characters in a novella were secondary characters in another story, of course the trick is to have read the previous story.
Brava novellas are my favorite.
November 12th, 2007 at 9:39 am
I’m another who loves novellas. They are great to read when you have a busy schedule. Best of all is that they are satisfying.
November 12th, 2007 at 10:17 am
I also love novellas, and I also love the whole characters who already have history thing–can’t wait to read yours