I think something has to be said about the novella, a form typically overlooked by readers and critics alike. There's a particular attitude that more is better. However, we all know that a sense of economy can be equally valuable if not greater. The novella is a form that I admire deeply. Following a fiction style that encourages succinctness, I find the form to be excellent. A few of my pieces of work are novellas and I plan to write more.
The novella should certainly be treated with more respect today. There are enough epic novels that waste extra pages that can be done away with easily. In fact, some of the most notable books are actually novellas. These include Of Mice and Men, The Old Man and the Sea, The Great Gatsby, Heart of Darkness, Breakfast at Tiffany's, and more. Does this not mean that the novella has as much merit as the novel?
The distinctiveness of a novella goes beyond word count. While it is part of the criteria, the novella is also about the scope of vision. A story that takes place in a day or perhaps a couple of hours is ideal for a short novel. It can help depict a slice of life that has more possibility beyond a short story without getting into more complicated plots and long progressions of time found in a novel.
Although it's uncertain if the novella will ever have a revival, I won't concern myself with that. I'll instead continue to enjoy the form and use it to write stories that I feel would work well with it.
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