Guidance/advice for writing novels after writing short stories?

How does one extend the story to novel length?

Good topic. I too have great difficulty in thinking beyond the short story.

Just keep going.
I averaged 10 pages a week.

MeowGirl said:

Hi there!

I've gotten comfortable with writing short stories in the 7K-12K word range,...

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7,000 words??? Wow, how did you do it?!?

My longest work is one of the Flash Fiction entries, probably around 1,500 words.

MeowGirl said:

It really is that simple, isn't it?

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It seemed like it. I'd ditched other would be novels over the years, but in retrospect they weren't pieces I enjoyed as I did my last.

Have a plan in mind. If a short story goes off in its own direction and that turns out to be a dead end, you're not out much time and effort, but when a novel does the same thing, you can lose months or years of work.

I'd recommend a synopsis, outline, index cards, or whatever planning system works for you so you have a beginning, a middle, and an end before you begin. Since the middle is where it's easiest to lose it, make sure that the middle flows naturally from your beginning and leads you directly to the end.

Maryn, who found this worked for her

I'm having this same issue! I've never really tried novel writing but figured it's time I employ the BIC method and just get it done. I'm up to 32,000 so something's going right (write haha). Take your simple idea for a short story. Now expand. You can explain why a character acts a certain way. Suddenly you have back story. Then once you figure out the backstory you can work forward and get the other stuff down as it comes. It's a strange leap, believe me! It takes some time to get used to but just keep plugging along and it'll come Good luck!

Novel

Remember that a novel is not just a really long short story. The structure is different.

I think one good way to make the transition is to pick a novel you really love, rip the covers off, separate the pages, place it beside your keyboard, and use it to pace your own novel.

Keep in mind that with a novel, you'll need subplots - you'll have room for character development, change, conflict, growth - they can't all occur in Chapter 3 (unless you write 30k chapters ) You'll need a full understanding of your characters so you can flesh them out.

Basically you have a larger room to fill, but you'll have to make sure and put only the best furniture in there for good placement.

MidnightMuse, who never could get the hang of writing anything shorter than 70k.

Jamesaritchie said:

Remember that a novel is not just a really long short story. The structure is different.

I think one good way to make the transition is to pick a novel you really love, rip the covers off, separate the pages, place it beside your keyboard, and use it to pace your own novel.

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This is great advice. Pacing is crucial to longer works.

I would add also to stay focused on the page you're on at the moment and don't worry too much about how many pages you have to go. It's like running a marathon. If you start obsessing about the finish line halfway through mile one, you're screwed. Instead, focus on putting one foot in front of the other, and enjoy the long process.

Don't summarize - describe body language, feelings, appearances, give characters chances to talk and be introspective, and of course more plot must happen. Short stories often have a really tight focus - they show one event OR explore one facet of one character, they rarely have more than 3 scenes, they leave out everything nonessential. With a novel on the other hand you ideally follow more characters, get deeper into their minds and hearts, have a more complex and vivid setting, and watch more events happen probably over a longer period of time.

The first novel I wrote was a modern take on a book I love and have read and analyzed many, many times. I stole the plot, updated the setting, and plopped my own charactes into the archetypes of the classic novel. I know it will never be publishable, but it was a great exercise for me and gave me the confidence to go it on my own the next time around.

Some stories are only meant to be short stories. Some stories are meant to be novels. I would encourage you not to just try to "pad" a short story until it becomes long enough... then you'll end up with a very thin plot that drags on much longer than it ought to.

I wrote mostly short stories before I got into novel writing, and after several novels I have to admit that I'm still working my way out of that format... but it's not necessarily a bad thing. For me, I tried to think of each chapter as its own short story (although it didn't necessarily have a conclusion that wrapped up all the loose ends). Essentially, the way I got started was with a short story-- it was complete in itself, but I realized that my characters' story was not over. They had more to say. It became the first chapter of my first novel. So I didn't stuff that short story full of more stuff, I built on it.

Right now I am trying to move away from the "episodic" format that was the result, but that doesn't mean that what I wrote during that transition time was bad. It was just different.