I recall a recent conversation with friends regarding a writer of their acquaintance. The writer reputedly knocked out novels on a monthly basis. I was hesitantly impressed with the productivity, though not knowing the actual length or finished quality of their efforts I was probably more intrigued than impressed. With a little research I discovered the novels in question were between 150 and 200 pages in length. I haven’t sampled the content of any publication, erotic fiction is not really my scene, so I couldn’t give an honest review, but the reviews I’ve seen on ‘Goodreads’ are not shabby.
The whole idea got me thinking – what defines the length of a novel? In my personal (antiquated?) experience a novel is classified as 80,000 to 100,000 words (350 to 450 pages in length). A novella is 20,000 to 30,000 words (75 to 150 pages long). Has this always been a standard of sorts? Or is it just a recent fad?
There was a period during the seventies where novels expanded as eagerly as the populations’ waistline. American Blockbuster novels following the trials of multiple generations of protagonists were thick enough to build houses with. I can remember buying a sturdier briefcase to contain them on my commute. I question whether many of today’s Instagram or Twitter generation could maintain the attention required to reach the conclusion of an 800-page story, let alone a 400-pager.
I sound critical, but that isn’t my intention. Preferred length is as personal as preferred genre. So is the variable definition of a novel a bad thing? Despite the strict voice in my head, I believe not. Yes I favour a story long enough to develop characters, set up a multi-location environment and provide the protagonists with sufficient struggles to keep you turning the pages, but there is scope for all kinds of story. Formats now range from flash fiction, which can be as short as a single page, Short stories, novellas, short novels (for want of a better name) complete novels and more.
Variety is the spice of life and can only aid the serious writer, so I plan to embrace all formats.
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