For 7th Grade: What are the Forms of Fiction?

There are various forms of fiction. What elements should a creative writer be aware of when tackling each type of project? And what's the difference anyway?



While the main difference between the fiction forms of novel, novella, short story, and flash fiction is the length of the project, there are other elements creative writers should keep in mind when tackling each project. It's not just condensing or expanding. Here are some things to remember when trying to write each form.


The Short Story: Time-Honored Short Fiction

The short story, while still a shorter form of fiction, allows a little more time for development than does flash fiction. The writer has a little more "room to roam" around the story. In other words, even though a short story must not waste any time, it is not stripped bare. That said, short stories are usually less than 20,000 words but are longer than flash fiction


Novellas and Novels: Fiction That Paces Itself

While flash fiction can be thought of as a 60-meter dash and the short story can be compared to the 100-meter dash, the novella is comparable to a 1-mile run, and the novel would be a 5K marathon. That is, both of these longer forms of fiction must pace themselves - they can't reveal everything right away, and they spend more time developing character and plot. They are meant to be taken in slowly, where a shorter story is meant to be enjoyed quickly. The author can slowly reveal various story elements with these longer forms.

A novella is usually 40,000 words or less. It is not as complicated as a novel but much more involved than the short story.