Happy Tuesday!
I'm David James and I'm new here at ADR3NALIN3 (Did I spell that right?), but I don't feel new. The wonderful thing about being a part of a creativity community is that people are often so friendly and welcoming. I'm looking forward to blogging here! Today's post is a quick one because of my new release, but I (kind of) have a joke at the end so it's all good. And, in celebration of The Warrior's Code (my new release OUT TODAY), I'm going to be talking a little bit about novellas.
The Warrior's Code was written many months ago, before my first novel, Light of the Moon came out. Code started as a character development piece that (very quickly) morphed into something much more.
But I don't want to talk about the how.
I want to talk about the why.
What I want to ask is this: Why do we need novellas?
Personally, I enjoy origin stories and character pieces that are complete stories in themselves. A novella should have the same features a traditional book has. A beginning, middle, and end. A plot. A climax. A resolution. Often, the ending of a novella is a moment of hope that leaves the reader wanting more, and that's okay, but there should still be a conclusion of some kind. Of course, that's my opinion. Talking specifically about why we need novellas, I think that novellas are an excellent way to introduce new characters that might narrate other books in a series. By introducing the character further through a novella, it's easier to relate to a new narrator down the road. Also, I think novellas are a great way to give characters a "happy ending" that may not have a place in the original story.
What do you think? How do you like your novellas? Easy and open-ended? Or complex and complete?
(I feel like there was a "How do you like your eggs?" joke in there and I missed it)
-David
4 comments:
Interesting. I hadn't thought about novellas except as a shorter story. The idea that it can be a character study or a prequel origin notion is very cool. Welcome, David. And CONGRATULATIONS on your latest release. I love book birthdays!!!
HAPPY BOOK BIRTHDAY, David! And I'm so excited that you're hanging w/us here at ADR3 now. You're one of my fave twitter pals, and now we have a blog in common, too!
Great insight on the novella. Like JD, I'd never thought of it in that light, and I like it. Kind of makes me want to write one with that in mind. :) Awesome first post!
Glad you're joining ADR3!
You opened my eyes to the potential of the Novella. I had always dismissed it as the awkward compromise between the short story and the novel, but your novella Code (along with a few other recent ones like Howey's "Wool"), are really starting to bring the novella into its own.
Thanks All! So happy to be here as part of the ADR3 group! :)
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