Your Novel Is Shorter Than You Think

Carl Duncan

27 Sept 202410:22

Summary

TLDRThe video explores the importance of aligning a story's length with its narrative needs, emphasizing that novels should tell 'bigger' stories, not just longer ones. It highlights how different stories require different lengths and that each word, scene, or character detail should serve the plot, character development, or themes. The speaker advises against padding stories unnecessarily or rushing complex ideas, advocating for deliberate storytelling choices. By keeping each detail purposeful, authors can maintain engagement and control over their narrative, ensuring that every part contributes meaningfully to the whole.

Takeaways

📖 Novels aren't about telling a longer story, but a bigger, more complex one.
🧐 Writers should ask if they are using too many words to tell a simple story, or cramming a big story into too few words.
⏳ Storytelling involves delaying resolutions to allow ideas and emotions to take root in readers' minds.
⏲️ Novels benefit from time gaps between readings, allowing readers to process and reinterpret events unconsciously.
🔄 A novel's length allows for complexity and deep character development, as well as changes in reader perspective over time.
🎯 Every scene, description, and line in a novel should serve a specific purpose, whether for plot, characterization, theme, or mood.
✂️ Unnecessary details or padding in a novel make the story bloated and can distract from its core message.
🛠️ Writers have complete control over every aspect of the story, and they should use this power to ensure everything is meaningful.
🚶 Mundane details (like a character moving between rooms) should be removed unless they contribute to the story in some way.
📝 Writers should focus on meaningful details and avoid cramming irrelevant character or world-building information into the story.

Q & A

What is the main difference between a short story and a novel in terms of storytelling?
-The main difference is that a novel isn't about telling a longer story but rather a bigger story. Novels provide more space to explore complex ideas, characters, and themes, whereas short stories often focus on more concise narratives.
Why is it important to consider the length of a story while writing?
-It's important because every story has an ideal length to be told in. Stretching a short story into a novel or cramming a longer story into fewer words can lead to issues, like unnecessary scenes or a rushed plot.
How does the time a reader spends with a novel affect their perception of the story?
-When a reader puts down a novel and returns later, the time spent away allows them to process and reinterpret the story. This marinating effect can change how they view events and characters, giving the story more depth.
What are the risks of writing a novel that is too long or too short?
-If a novel is too long, it may contain unnecessary details or scenes that slow down the narrative. If it's too short, the story may feel rushed, and key elements may not be fully explored or developed.
What is the role of 'delay' in storytelling, especially in novels?
-Delay in storytelling helps build tension and engagement. Introducing an idea and allowing time before resolving it gives the reader space to reflect and emotionally invest in the narrative. It's akin to comedic timing, where timing is crucial for impact.
How can a writer use the length of a novel to their advantage?
-A writer can use the novel's length to explore complex characters, develop intricate plots, and create a richer, more immersive experience. The time a reader spends with a novel gives the story room to breathe and allows for deeper emotional engagement.
What common mistakes do writers make when they don't use a novel's length effectively?
-Writers may include unnecessary scenes, overlong dialogue, or irrelevant descriptions that don’t advance the plot or deepen characterization. This leads to bloated narratives or, conversely, to stories that feel rushed and underdeveloped.
What is the key to determining what details to include in a novel?
-Every detail should serve the story in some way, either by advancing the plot, revealing character, or enhancing themes and mood. If a detail does not contribute meaningfully to the story, it should be reconsidered.
Why is it important for a writer to control the pacing and structure of a scene?
-Controlling pacing and structure ensures that every scene has purpose, whether it moves the plot forward, develops characters, or contributes to the story's mood. Without careful control, scenes can feel like filler or detract from the overall narrative.
How should writers approach world-building and character details in their novels?
-Writers should focus on world-building and character details that serve the story, rather than adding elements just for interest. Extraneous details can clutter the narrative, so it’s important to ensure that everything ties back to the core plot and themes.

Outlines

00:00

📚 The Importance of Novel Length

This paragraph discusses the significance of the length of novels in storytelling. It emphasizes that novels are not about extending the length of a story but about expanding its depth. The speaker highlights the importance of the delay between establishing an idea and resolving it, which is crucial for all forms of storytelling, including novels, short stories, and jokes. The ideal length of a story is determined by the time needed for readers to engage with the narrative and the characters. The paragraph also touches on how the length of a novel allows for complexity and the reader's ability to process and reinterpret the story over time, which is different from shorter formats read in one sitting.

05:01

🖋️ Writing to the Novel's Advantage

Paragraph 2 focuses on the idea that every aspect of a novel, including its length, should serve the story. It argues against writing a novel that is either too short or too long for the story it's trying to tell. The speaker advises that every moment in a novel should contribute to plot progression, exposition, character development, theme, or mood. The paragraph also discusses the importance of not including unnecessary details and how writers have control over every aspect of their story, including scene setting and character descriptions. The speaker suggests that writers should focus on what details are necessary for the story and avoid including details just because they find them interesting.

10:01

🎥 Wrapping Up the Discussion

In this concluding paragraph, the speaker summarizes the video's content and hopes that the advice provided is useful to the viewers. They express a desire to have offered valuable insights and invite viewers to explore more of their writing advice videos and subscribe to their channel. The speaker thanks the audience for watching and signs off, indicating the end of the video.

Mindmap

Keywords

💡Storytelling

Storytelling is the art of telling a story in such a way that it engages and entertains an audience. In the context of the video, storytelling is discussed as a fundamental element that involves delaying the resolution of an idea to create suspense and engagement. The video emphasizes the importance of pacing and timing in storytelling, which is illustrated by the comedic timing example of delivering a punchline after establishing a setup.

💡Novel

A novel is a long, narrative work of fiction, usually in prose, that describes intimate human experiences. The video script discusses the novel as a medium that allows for a certain 'marinating process' due to the time a reader spends with the story across multiple sittings, which changes how they perceive and feel about the narrative.

💡Length

Length, in the context of the video, refers to the number of words or pages that make up a story. The script explores the idea that the length of a story should be determined by its narrative needs rather than a preconceived word count. It stresses that every word in a novel should contribute to plot progress, exposition, characterization, theme, or mood.

💡Resolution

Resolution in storytelling is the point at which the conflict or problem presented in a story is resolved. The video mentions the importance of the delay between establishing an idea and its resolution, which is crucial for building suspense and allowing readers to engage with the story's ideas.

💡Character Development

Character development refers to the process by which a character in a story evolves over time. The video discusses how the length of a novel allows for more complex character development, as readers have time to observe characters' actions and understand their personalities.

💡World Building

World building is the process of constructing an imaginary world, often in fantasy or science fiction, including its history, culture, and geography. The script cautions against creating excessive world-building details that do not serve the story, emphasizing that every detail should have a purpose and contribute to the narrative.

💡Exposition

Exposition is the part of a narrative where background information about the story's setting, characters, or events is revealed. The video suggests that exposition should be deliberate and contribute to the story's progress, rather than being included merely for the sake of providing background.

💡Theme

A theme is a central idea or message in a story. The video emphasizes that every element of a novel, including the length of the story, should serve to convey the theme. It suggests that a story's length should allow for the development and exploration of its themes.

💡Plot Progress

Plot progress refers to the advancement of the story's events towards its climax and resolution. The script argues that every part of a novel should move the plot forward, and any element that does not contribute to this should be questioned or removed.

💡Line Editing

Line editing is the process of refining a manuscript at the sentence level to improve clarity, style, and flow. The video mentions line editing as a way to eliminate unnecessary words and tighten up prose, which is essential for ensuring that every word contributes to the story.

💡Chapter Structure

Chapter structure refers to how a novel is divided into chapters and how each chapter contributes to the overall narrative. The video suggests that each chapter should have a mini-arc related to the main plot, which helps to ensure that the novel's length is used effectively and that the story does not feel like it is 'killing time'.

Highlights

Novels aren't about telling a longer story, they're about telling a bigger story.

Every story has an ideal length to be told in, with a proper delay between establishing ideas and resolving them.

The time readers spend away from the novel, between sittings, affects how they process and reinterpret the story.

Novels allow for more complexity and depth, taking advantage of the reader's time away from the text to shape their understanding.

Writing to hit a specific word count (e.g., 80,000 words) can lead to bloated stories or rushed narratives.

If you're using unnecessary dialogue or scenes to pad the story, it's a sign that the story might not be suited for the length.

Every detail in a novel, including descriptions of characters, should serve the story in some meaningful way.

If a scene or line doesn't advance the plot, develop characters, or convey theme, it should be reconsidered or removed.

Writers control every aspect of the story, and every moment should be deliberate and contribute to the narrative.

Line editing is crucial to tighten writing, often requiring the removal of unnecessary words or details.

Chapters should have a mini arc that contributes to the larger story, ensuring that scenes are purposeful.

Excessive world-building or character dossiers can lead to unnecessary details being forced into the story.

The focus should always be on how world-building and character details serve the story, not just on their inherent interest.

Cutting out non-essential elements that don't fit the story's purpose is a good starting point for refining a novel.

Each word and scene should have intention, serving to engage the reader and contribute meaningfully to the plot or themes.