Blog Post #10: Novel v. Short Story

One of the main differences between the way I read a novel and the way I read a book is how much I pay attention to the characters. In short stories, most of the character development comes early in the story in order to leave room for the climax, which follows soon after. The reader first gets all the information about the characters, and then uses that information to make sense of the character's actions in the plot. Many short stories are set up in this way because there really is no room for anything else. In novels, however, character development builds through the whole story. The writer is able to show the character's traits through their actions, allowing the reader to gradually accumulate an idea of the character's personality. Because little facts about the characters can appear all throughout a novel, the reader must pay much more attention when this happens. Often, a character will act in a certain way that is explained by something about their personality that was told much earlier in the novel, so it is up to the reader to remember. When reading novels, I pay attention to the characters a lot more than I do when I'm reading short stories. This allows me to understand the characters better and to become more invested in their story.

Another way in which I read novels differently than short stories is that I tend to reread short stories a lot more than I do novels. Short stories often require a lot more effort to understand. Rereading them helps me begin to understand them. It is also a lot easier to reread short stories than novels. Novels are so long that it's hard to find parts to reread. In fact, it's hard to find really anything to go back to in novels because there's so much. If I ever reread novels, I have to reread the entire thing. The same goes for short stories, but it is easier and quicker to do so.

For me, reading novels is a much different experience from reading short stories, but both are enjoyable and allow both novels and short stories to stay with me for different reasons.