Is your Short Story screaming and yelling, “I want to be a NOVEL?”

Many people believe that the best approach for a novel is to write it as a short story first. Then, you can look at it and ask yourself if it is truly bigger than a short story. If the small plant takes over the house, then maybe you needed to plant it in a bigger pot.


Here are sure-fire-ways to evaluate that short story and see if it needs to be a BIGGIE.

Is your idea unique?

Have you seen this over and over and over? Is it trite? Is the idea like the bread you purchased a week ago, STALE? You MUST tell the story in a way that it reads like something absolutely fresh and new. Make the story original. In fact, all stories are basically the same ideas being tossed like limp lettuce in the salad bowl. You have to add something to make the salad unique.

Is the short story an over-grown nail?

If the story is too long, you have to clip it or add to it. Have you ever had an overgrown toe nail? Ouch! Those babies can hurt like, you know what. You have to trim them down and shape them. Ahhhhhh! Remember the relief of a perfectly manicured nail. If the story is growing out of the box, you have to get a bigger box. Make the short story a novel.

How many people can you fit into one phone booth?

If the characters in your story are multiplying like rabbits, you need to write the novel. Only so many people can fit in that phone booth, or that ‘beetle.” Too many people, mean more space for them to develop.

What is this that I see before me? I have thee not, yet I see the still!

I make myself sick being dramatic some days. This is proof that I have had too much chocolate. If you can not develop the idea in 8,000 words or so, it needs to be a novel. If, after 8,000 words you still have not landed the plane, write a novel.

Does the alarm clock keep going off every time you hit snooze?

Short means what it says, short. If your story has left the building, then maybe you need to turn it into a novel. Short stories cover hours and days. Novels cover years and adventures.

Aunt Grace said, “You should write a book."

The other say, I wrote a short story about a vampire. My daughter read it and said, “I wish this was a book. I would read it.” If someone says this would make a great novel. Think about it. They might be right.
Do you wish the neighbor next door would move or what?

If you could live with the characters in the story for years, write a novel.