When you’re ready to write fiction, one of the first questions you’ll be confronted with is: Should you write a short story or a novel? Both forms offer distinctive creative opportunities, and both come with very different demands. Short stories are concise, focused, and perfect for practising craft or publishing quickly. On the other hand, novels offer more room for character development and intricate plots, but demand more time and commitment. Whether you’re a new writer deciding how to start or a seasoned storyteller contemplating your next project, understanding the difference between short stories and novels is crucial. Join us at What We Writing as we break down the short story vs novel debate, weighing up the pros and cons of each, exploring what stories suit them best, and helping you figure out which path aligns with your creative goals!
Novel Vs Short Story: Length
Undoubtedly, the biggest difference between a novel and a short story is in the length of each. Length can help you determine which you are writing: Does your story need the room of a novel to be told properly, or can you wrap things up more quickly?
Word Count
Essentially, a short story is a work of narrative fiction that can range from 1,000 to 10,000 words. Alternatively, novels tend to be around 50,000 to 80,000 words. Naturally, there are plenty of examples of novels and short stories that are exceptions to these guidelines. Generally, though, a good way of distinguishing between the length of short stories and novels is that short stories are designed to be read in a single sitting or in a day, whereas novels are meant to occupy the reader for a longer period of time, be it days, weeks or even months.
Story Type
What really drives the length of a story? That all depends on your idea. Broadly speaking, a bulkier story demands a larger or more complex idea to justify that length. The story of a trip to your family’s house for dinner might make for a good short story concept, but you might find yourself padding out the word count massively if you’re trying to pull it off as a novel.
Amount of Time
Generally, short stories tend to cover events of a shorter time period than novels. But that isn’t always the case. For example, Anton Chekhov is a good example of a writer who wrote many stories that feel like a compact novel, covering years of time in just a few, tightly-composed pages.
Novel Vs Short Story: Complexity
As you outline your story, keep a few key questions in mind: Does it need a lot of backstory for the reader to fully understand it? Is it centred around one main event, or does it follow a complex chain of incidents? Are there subplots or detours that are essential to telling the full story? The more layers and context your narrative requires, the more likely it is that you’re working with an idea better suited for a longer format.
Subplots
Another way of thinking about the differences between short stories and novels is to do with the complexity of the story. A short story tends to take less time, following just a single thread, and seldom features more than a sole subplot. By contrast, a novel might be brimming with different subplots running alongside the main narrative.
Check Out Our Guide On How To Plot A Short Story
Setting
Introducing your reader to a new setting can take a lot of time. If you’re penning a historical fiction story, constructing a high fantasy world, or developing a radical dystopian future, you’ll likely need to write more exposition compared to a story written in the present day in a real-world setting.
Number of Characters
Novels generally have a much larger cast of characters compared to short stories. These characters are typically more developed and have their own journeys, arcs, and development. By comparison, short fiction features fewer characters or perhaps even just one main protagonist.
Check Out How Many Characters Your Novel Should Have
Points of View
Consider how you want your story told: What is the point of view (POV)? It can be difficult as a writer (and confusing as a reader) to switch points of view over the span of a short story. In a longer novel, purposeful shifts in POV (perhaps even between first and third person) can be a crucial way of sustaining a reader’s interest; spending too much time with the same character or viewpoint can be draining for a reader.
Check Out Our Guide To Writing Multiple POVs
What Kind Of Writer Are You?
As a writer, it’s important to work out which format your ideas naturally suit. While novels often hog the spotlight with the most attention and recognition, many great writers, such as Franz Kafka, Anton Chekhov, and Jorge Luis Borges, focused almost exclusively on short stories. Others, like Hemingway, flicked between both forms with equal success. Ultimately, the real question isn’t which format is “better,” but which one suits the story you’re looking to tell.
James has been passionate about storytelling ever since he could hold a pen. Inspired by the epic fantasy and historical dramas he devoured in his youth, his work now centers on dark, psychological tales featuring intense, introspective characters and atmospheric, gothic undertones. In 2025, he founded What We Writing to share his creative journey and the lessons he’s learned along the way with fellow writers and passionate storytellers.
