As I write this, I’m finishing up my third novella–a sensuous tale about a forest nymph and the emotionally fractured soldier she loves–and I’m luxuriating in that intense sense of pleasure a writer gets after having finished the first draft. I’m also taking the time to appreciate the unique satisfaction that a novella offers.

I wrote Midnight Medusa in a whirlwind, the ideas flowing onto the page effortlessly. It was one of those rare stories that came together in a magical storm of inspiration and prose. I didn’t have to agonize over which scenes to cut–it all fit nicely within the parameters.

I can tell you, it’s not always this way. And especially not when it comes to a complicated short-form like the novella.

If you ask a writer to tell you the definition of a novella, he or she will generally tell you it’s longer than a short story, and shorter than a novel. If you’re writing for Nocturne Bites, however, the rules are very clear. The piece has to be under fifteen thousand words, establish the rules of your fantasy world, and complete a romantic story arc.

It’s a daunting challenge to be sure, but one that offers great rewards.

 A novella is just long enough to let me delve into my imagination, to create characters I fall in love with, and to really hone my craft with precise prose–with a novella, I don’t get an extra word to spare. The constraints of a novella mean that you have to get straight to the heart of the matter. A novella is like a brief, uncomplicated and exciting fling, as opposed to the long romantic courtship of the full-length novel.

That doesn’t mean that writing a novella isn’t without its heartache. There are the flights of fancy which must end up on the editing room floor. There is the gnashing of teeth at the lack of subtlety–there isn’t room for the slow revelation and inference; consequently, the art form forces me to struggle against being trite or preachy.

At the end of the day, though, the novella always leaves me wanting more–and sometimes, that’s a great feeling.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 25th, 2009 at 7:16 pm and is filed under Miscellaneous. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.