How to Write a Novella

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Novellas are one of the most enigmatic forms of fiction, falling in the grey area between short story and novel, and often taking qualities from both. But, novellas can also be extremely versatile. You can tell a wide range of stories, from very simple narratives to more complex ones. Longer novellas can be published on their own in print, shorter ones can be featured in a short story collection, and they can also make effective promotional tools or lead magnets to promote a series or your mailing list.

There aren't many rules regarding the novella form, but here are some dos and don'ts for writing a novella!

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TIMESTAMPS
0:00 - Intro
0:25 - What is a novella?
1:35 - Conflict
2:04 - Characters
2:39 - Use film structure
3:24 - Three act structure
3:44 - Using the form
4:18 - Earn the ending
5:00 - Novella recommendations
5:50 - Review

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I'm a beginning writer.
So I decided to break my novel concept into a novella trilogy to ease myself into the world of writing.
Before that, I decided to make a short-story of 5, 000 words as a preview to act as a hook for my readers.
I published my first Novella: Hans Odyssey, Volume: Discovery.
This eased my path. I've sold about 40 copies to people at a small farmer market which just brought me joy.

MavisSongbird

Dunno about the 'unpopularity' part... My favorite books have consistently been novellas. They are in that sweet spot where you get a full story without suffering from the middle-book syndrome, where the pacing gets plummeted in so many novels.

demonsangells

I want to write a shorter novel, but calling it a “novel” just seems kind of daunting. So for now I’m going to call it a “novella”, and see how long it ends up.

randomwords

I haven’t seen this and I already know it’ll help me loads.

emxry

Three great novellas: The Great Gatsby by Scott Fitzgerald, A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess, and Utz by Bruce Chatwin

steveprescott

I plan to write a few novella series for a living.

milestrombley

I think the idea of novellas is great for me, because I usually have short but dense ideas, and I'm TERRIBLE at sticking with the same idea for more than a month, sometimes even less. I've tried writing short stories but I always feel like I'm missing something, and trying to write a novel is just too much for me(especially because I pressure myself for everything)

josefinasotes

i love how straight to the point you are and i LOVE the chapters / time markers

mave.lynnnn

I was writing a book and I had planned for it to be the first of a two-book series. I get to the last chapter only at ten thousand ish words and realize it is not only a novella but a character's backstory.

lydiacrouch

Damn, your hair looks amazing in this video. Get it!

blakegrimes

Think of it like a movie is all I needed to hear. Thanks!

zaid_hus

Animal Farm, Of Mice and Men, The Metamorphosis, The Old Man and the Sea, A Christmas Carol, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Heart of Darkness, Breakfast at Tiffany's. A lot of classics are novellas because that used to be the most popular story length before the publishing industry started preferring longer books (probably to justify charging more for them). Check out the classics for great examples of novellas!

curlstheworld

Hi, thanks for this lovely video. Excited to start my (5 year-old idea of a) novella! Really enjoy what you said in regards to viewing film akin to a novella. Puts what it should be in great perspective. Will continue to refer to this video, cheers!

chaosdozer

I'm telling myself that I'm writing a novella just so I won't get intimidated.

odie-wankenodie

Not to be mean but with most peoples schedules ( attention spans ) novellas are a great way for an unknown author to get a foot in the door.

spacealienjesus