At what point would you consider a story to be a novel?

Question

Personally, I had always held the belief that a story will remain just a story, until it is published. It was only at this point that I would consider the story a novel.

After I was annoyed by someone claiming they wrote four novels (none of which are published or close to being published), I looked up various definitions of the word novel. Some of the ones that came up include:

"A fictional prose narrative of considerable length, typically having a plot that is unfolded by the actions, speech, and thoughts of the characters."

"A fictitious prose narrative of considerable length and complexity, portraying characters and usually presenting a sequential organization of action and scenes."

"An invented prose narrative that is usually long and complex and deals especially with human experience through a usually connected sequence of events "

Of course, none of these definitions fit within my own preconceptions of the word. Now, I am still inclined to say that the quality of writing matters and that publication is an important factor. I think that the word novel should be more selective.

What are your thoughts on the matter?

BQ: According to your own definition of the word, have you written a novel?
BQ2: If yes, how many?

As for me, I say that I'm working on a story that I hope to be published as a novel, but I avoid saying that I'm working on a novel. I'm of the opinion that you can only do that when you're already a published author.

Answer 1

No, it's got nothing to do with whether it's published. An unpublished manuscript, if it's over about 40,000 words, is still a 'novel'. It's not a *book*, because it's still just in manuscript form, but it's still a novel. I mean, a poem is still a poem whether it's published or not, right?



'Novel' is just a literary form, in the same way that 'poem', 'play', 'short story' etc are literary forms - the definition is based around the form of the writing, not around whether it's been published or not. A novel is any piece of prose fiction over about 40,000 words. Even if it's an unpublishable mess.



It's not really something that's a matter of opinion - it's just fact.

Answer 2

When it's long enough to be considered a novel. I'm told that's 40,000 words. Which seems very short to me, but I'm not the one making the definition. It's probably to account for novels written for 10-12year olds. I can't imagine a published adult novel being that short.



Whether it's published or not has no impact on whether something's a novel. What it impacts, for me, is whether it's a _book_. To me, a book is something that's published. A novel is purely a definition of manuscript length.



By the standard definition of the word, I have written two novels (both fanfic) and am working on a third (original). I haven't written any books yet. By my definition of the word I haven't written any novels yet - both my long fanfics are actually under 50,000 words and intended for an adult audience. But the original one I'm working on is going to be more like 70,000.

Answer 3

A story becomes a novel when you decide to write to the end and it is hundreds of pages long. It doesn't become a true novel until published. Right now I'm working on one novel and when I finish it I hope it will be liked by publishers and be out in the real world. I have other ideas too that write now are just outlines. I also write poetry and have two poems published in poetry books.

Answer 4

development, story, characters, evoke empathy from your readers, evoke reactions. Don't let twilight become the standard. its okay to get compelling ideas from other writer. mix stuff in it. when i write music. i'm writing a short story. i put in a lot of detail, and my singer really understand my ideas and puts the together or fine tunes them. he is really good at it. since he is going for his p.h.d in sociology. there are concepts. different points of views. understanding all of and developing them is an art. in my work i have religious, philosophical, personal, bizarre, theoretical, social, and personal references. making a connection with the song and what the listen might interpret the music to be is important. what your message. its may be a collection of ideas and events. it might just be based on real events. it may just be a collection of creative ideas. i gotta stop here lol. i'll end up writing a paper about the creative process and thought. i never wrote a book, never directed a movie never painted a master piece never composed a symphony, but i have study and learned how to do it if i every do. so far i'm a musician, a poet, an artist, and a kettle for creative ideas. one thing anyone will ever do will always be a work of art, a piece of art , or both.

Answer 5

Very interesting question!



This one is quite a difficult one to answer and it really comes down to personal opinion on the matter.



Now I have been writing for as long as I can remember, and have finished a couple of books of a reasonable length, including one earlier this year, which I was very proud of. And when I've mentioned it to people I have always said "I have written a book" or "I have written a story" never "I have written a novel." In fact when people say that I have written a novel, I will correct them and say, 'No, it's just a book/story".



The only time I've used 'novel' was when I was applying a mocking or sarcastically pompous tone to my speech. To me, a novel is what I buy in a bookstore, not something my friend has written, no matter how good that may be (and how bad the novel is). I've always thought saying 'I've written a novel' was a very elitist, arrogant and conceited thing to say in reference to an unpublished work.



Anyone can write a story. Only some people are capable of writing a novel.

Answer 6

According to Locus:



Novel more the 40,000

Novella 14,500-40,000

Novelette 7,500-14,500

Short Story 1,000-7,500

Flash Fict under 1,000

vignette



So, technically anything over 40,000 words is considered a novel. However, publishers will usually not consider anything less the 60,000 words, and prefer 80,000-100,000 words.

Answer 7

A novel is basically a bunch of short stories (chapters) that are similar and interrelated to one another.

Answer 8

I think a story is a novel after it has 100 pages.

Answer 9

Publishers consider a novel to have 80,000 to 100,000 words. YA novels have 40,000 to 50,000 words.

Answer 10

It's a manuscript. Before it is published, it is always a manuscript.