I had* a problem, where the two main places I write were incompatible. That is, the software I prefer to write with - Dropbox and yWriter, wouldn't run at one of the places I write at, due to the particular system configuration. So I'd resolved to write the novel at home, and write shorts and other things at the incompatible place.

Which was working - this morning, before my colleague's assistance, I wrote the start of what I thought was a short story that had been kicking around. It went pretty well - I liked the voice, I liked the concept, I even liked my opening page, which probably means it was rubbish. It got my attention, it flowed well, it felt lively.

What it didn't feel like was the start of a short story. It was punchy, but took its time. You knew what was going on, where the plot would be going, but nothing was actually happening, so much for that first page or so. And as I was writing, notions crept in - that while the concept was simple, its ramifications weren't, or shouldn't be. That, as a story, it was a bit of a trick-piece, but as a novel it might have more depth. Some character and humanity.

Which is mildly problematic, as I'm already writing a novel, but manageable. I like to multitask. But it posed an interesting question to me - how do you know if the idea you're toying with is novel-sized or short-sized? Obviously we do know, most of the time. But how? What is it about a story that makes you feel there's a whole novel in there, or that there couldn't be? And how implicitly do you trust that initial assessment - how easily will you consider turning a short into a novel, or ripping the heart out of your book to make a short?

*Until about half an hour ago, when a colleague showed me Dropbox's command-line install (thanks, Austin!). Now I'm golden, as soon as I get dropbox up and running under wine.

• Add New
• Search
• RSS

Comments (0)

Write comment

Your Contact Details:

Name:

Email: do not notifynotify

Website:

Comment:

Title:

Message:

Security

Please input the anti-spam code that you can read in the image.

Powered by !JoomlaComment 4.0 beta2