Planning your story doesn’t have to be boring -  we live in the age of apps, cool technology and online resources. Or, if you’re more a traditional soul, a simple mind-map can work wonders.

Are you writing a novella, or a short story, or a novel? Many people who write a novel, write a novella first.

In your writing, you should be striving to wow, please and entertain readers. This is what readers want, and it works best which it is obvious from the first page.

 

The shorter length of the novella poses a series of questions: where do I start my story? When do I end it? And how do I fit in everything I want to say? 

Novella writers chose the novella form because it allows them a certain focus ― as opposed to the potential breadth of a novel. For that reason there are often fewer characters in a novella.

A good place to start with writing characters is thinking of what they need / want most. Then list at least three things that are preventing them from achieving their goals.

You want to get everything right in your novella. If it doesn’t work out, you’ve learned more, and you’ve lost less. Still however, for the very best results you need to flesh out your protagonist.

 

The best way to plan a novella is using a mind map or a ‘brain-dump’. They always work and don't take much time, either.

In order to understand what makes a good novella, you'll have to read some. That's a pleasure, and you'll also learn what you need to know.

Like a novel, a novella will usually have a conflict at the centre of the story.  Unlike a novel, in a novella there is usually just one single conflict rather than various things happening.

 

Novellas are a great way to gain experience in writing. But there is so much more to it than that.

Novellas and novels. Deceptively similar, almost like cousins. But Novellas are different!