The Novelty of Writing a Novella
A week has passed since I submitted my first novella, and I’ve spent that time catching up on household admin, reacquainting myself with my family, and watching a new-to-me series on Netflix – American Horror Story – compelling viewing, full of twists and turns and dark storylines.
I like writing twists into my novels and with my writer’s tag reading, ‘Romance without the soft edges,’ my storylines have dark elements. I have the luxury of one hundred thousand words with which to explore the issuses that move me.
As a writer who enjoys a large cast, a variety of subplots, and difficult, sometimes taboo issues, writing a novella within the word count of twenty thousand to fifty thousand was a challenge and I had to keep reminding myself to hold back on the subplots, concentrate on the main characters, and not to delve too deep into the issues – keep it as tight as possible.
The novella came in at forty-seven thousand words. And four dead pens.
Had I written the ending I originally planned, I suspect the final word count would have been in the sixty thousands. As it turned out, the characters drew the story to a natural conclusion and their timing was spot on.
I enjoyed the whole process, from seeking advice from established novella writers to keeping the plan as tight as possible. The tone is lighter than my novels, but I do touch on a couple of issues. It seems that’s the way it is with my writing.
Now it’s time to head back to Book 4, a full length novel, which is currently sitting at sixteen thousand words. I plan to write one thousand words a day, excluding weekends, so I should have a first draft down by the end of September, maybe October, taking the school summer holiday into account.
I’ll keep you posted.
Take care