What is a Novella?

Some of literature’s greatest stories aren’t in novel form at all, but a different kind of prose. Rich characters like George Milton and Lennie Small (Of Mice and Men), unforgettable lines like “four legs good, two legs bad” (Animal Farm), and delightful parables about unlucky fishermen (The Old Man and the Sea) — all arrived at our literary shores as novellas. 

A novella is a narrative prose fiction piece that’s too long to be a short story but not quite long enough to be a full novel. These days, works between roughly 17,500 and 40,000 words are considered to be novellas. 

In this article, I’ll look at the origin of the novella, go over some of its defining factors, and I’ll give you a Story Weapon to see if a novella would work best for your story.

A novella is a focused work of prose fiction that sits between a short story and a novel, offering rich characterization and thematic depth without subplots or sprawling world-building. Its power comes from a narrow scope, a unified goal, and a tight transformation arc that delivers a single, resonant effect.

Origin of the novella

Novellas first started appearing in the 14th century in Italy. Giovanni Boccaccio’s The Decameron (1353) is often cited as the first major collection to define the form. The novella spread across Europe as it grew in popularity, reaching German, Polish, and French pens. It later came to America in the hands of authors like Washington Irving, Herman Melville, and Edith Wharton. 

Many historians consider Don Quixote by Miguel Cervantes to be the first “modern novel.” The first half of the book was published in 1605 and the second in 1615. While that seems like a long stretch of time between sections, Cervantes kept busy during that period as he also published a series of twelve novellas in 1613.

Why has the novella persisted even after the novel exploded in popularity, and short stories continued to grow in their own right? They’re an awkward fit at times; often too short to be published with the full price of a book and too long to be published in a magazine. Let’s explore what makes these thin books worth reading and writing.

A focused narrative

To be able to properly write a novella, you have to understand that it’s more than just a label based on the word count. As author George Fetherling put it in his essay entitled “Briefly, the case for the novella”: 

The point is that the novella — though short — is not just a novel that isn’t quite long enough. As I’ve said before, that’s like insisting that a pony is a baby horse. 

That’s a great metaphor to help us understand this story format. Some people might look at it as a baby horse; a story that couldn’t grow into a full novel. But the novella is more like a pony: already full grown at its (relatively) small size.

The constraint of a smaller word count affords the novella a tighter lens. 

• Novels can have multiple, complex subplots. 
• A short story is direct, clear, and concise. 
• The novella enjoys the space in between these forms. 

A novella is long enough to consist of a rich storyline, but won’t boast multiple plot threads. It can entertain wonderful characters, but typically not too many. 

Put in better words by novelist and literary critic William Dean Howells:

The novella is generally not as formally experimental as the long story and the novel can be, and it usually lacks the subplots, the multiple points of view, and the generic adaptability that are common in the novel. It is most often concerned with personal and emotional development rather than with the larger social sphere. The novella generally retains something of the unity of impression that is a hallmark of the short story, but it also contains more highly developed characterization and more luxuriant description.

This is some great guidance for how to approach writing a novella. You may have an idea that needs more exploration than a short story offers, but doesn’t need the weight of extra plot twists and side characters that a novel would demand. 

What sets novellas apart?

Let’s break down the key aspects a little further. 

Narrowed world-building

A core feature of the novella is its unique ability to flesh out an imagined space. Due to the limited size, you can hone in on one or two key elements of your story’s world-building in a way that wouldn’t work for a full length novel. Here you can explore specific aspects with keen precision, and leave the rest of the world unfinished. 

Here are some examples: 

• The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson – The world is essentially Victorian London, but Stevenson doesn’t flesh out the city at large. Instead, he uses an atmosphere of secrecy and social rules to explore the central theme of divided identity. 
• The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway – The ocean is as much a main character as the boy and the old fisherman in this tale’s struggle between man and nature. The narrow scope allows symbolic meaning to emerge through action rather than explanation.
• Animal Farm by George Orwell – The world of this story is limited to a single farm and a single governing system. This setting allows readers to watch the mechanics of authoritarianism up close as they unfold step by step. It makes the allegory sharp and unforgettable.

These authors resisted the urge to explain everything, allowing carefully chosen elements to carry the weight of their stories. That focus gives novellas their punch. Your reader isn’t left wandering in the landscape of a sprawling world, but rather they’re pressed up against its most meaningful edge.

Tight transformation arc

Even though the plot is minimal, novellas almost always feature a meaningful shift. The protagonist learns something, loses something, confronts a truth, or crosses a point of no return. The change may be subtle or internal, but it’s essential.

There’s also usually less setup and less time for resolution in a novella than there is in a novel. They often begin near the inciting incident and end soon after the climax. This creates a sense of immediacy and often leaves readers with lingering questions or emotional aftershocks.

One unified goal

Novellas are especially well-suited to exploring one dominant theme in depth.

In this compact form, the theme often feels more concentrated and resonant than in longer works.

Perhaps the most defining element of novellas is that they aim for a single, unified emotional or intellectual effect. Everything from the tone, theme, pacing, and imagery, works together to deliver that experience cleanly and powerfully for the readers.

Your story weapon: Less is more

Novellas don’t simply try to be smaller novels; they do something different. 

Do you have an idea with one delicious element, like a fascinating character, an interesting setting, or a narrative conceit? The novella could be your vehicle for that idea. Rather than making a horse out of a pony, consider the possibility that your story might work better in a more focused, distilled form.  

The novella can be an exciting way to write something without the weight of writing a full-length novel. However you approach it, let its form be a helpful tool and not an obstacle. 

Allow your focus to be solely on the main story by using my free story structure guide to track your protagonist’s journey without any subplots or narrative digressions. This will help you to maintain narrative drive and keep your story building in meaning as it progresses, while understanding that everything in your story is in service to this single throughline.