This week I’m excited to look at comments on a post that got a lot of great responses. A while back I wrote about How to Turn a Short Story Into a Novel. As it turns out, a lot of you have stories waiting to turn into something bigger! Marisa Birns said:
This is a very interesting post. I write short fiction and on several of the stories, readers have commented that they have the makings of a book.
Choosing a story with unfinished business is a great way to define it.
Thank you for your tips.
Thanks, Marisa! I think a lot of people are in your shoes — they’ve written a piece that has a lot going on. The story seems to be too big for the constraints of a short structure — it needs to grow, to get messy, to expand and complicate itself. Definitely try expanding the story if you feel inspired to.
Michelle Sussman said:
I love this post! I have a short story I wrote years ago and the story never left me. I wonder about my characters, sure that there’s more to their story. Perhaps when I finish my current novel I’ll revisit that short story.
Thanks for your support, Michelle! That’s a very common characteristic of stories that want to be novels — they never seem to leave your thoughts and keep bugging you. I have a story like that as well; it wasn’t the most perfect story, but maybe that’s why it would do better as a novel, and I just keep thinking about the characters and what their lives are like. Keep that story in mind, keep cogitating, and I’m sure it’ll be ready for a novel attempt soon.
After the jump: more thoughts about turning a story into a novel.
Stephanie Shire said:
I am a teacher of Reading and Language Arts to 6th grade students in a small town in Pennsylvania. …I have also written several short stories and shared them with my classes to help get them motivated. I have been encouraged by many of them to turn them into children’s novels. I have played around with one here and there for the last several months, and reading your blog gave me some great ideas and just the motivation I needed. Thanks for the hints!!!
I always love sharing this kind of comment because it makes me feel like Writerly Life is helping readers accomplish their writing goals. Thanks for sharing, Stephanie! I think it’s very interesting that short children’s stories could turn into young people’s novels. Good luck, and keep visiting Writerly Life to tell us about your progress.
Next week in the mailbag, I’ll answer some of the thoughtful comments made about my post Allow Moments of Silence in Your Creative Life. Stay tuned!
