I don’t have anything against regular-sized novels if they tell the story in completion. It’s no secret I prefer long novels but not just for the sake of extra words and situations. The whole objective in writing a story is to tell it in its entirety and not to skimp on points of character, scene, action, or anything else that matters to the heart of the story.
If you’re a master at flash fiction or short stories or novellas, I admire your craft. Generally speaking, I will not be one of the readers of your work because all of my life I have never enjoyed short stories.
I’ve read some excellent 100,000 word novels, but I’ve also read many which felt formulaic, incomplete, rushed, and forced into an ending to fit a word count. This is done for multiple reasons, some of which are attributed to current attention spans of readers and the too-much-money excuse to produce longer books. I say “excuse” here because in certain genres with particular authors, publishers produce big novels without hesitation.
It’s convenient for publishers to set word counts for their genre specs. It’s not always etched in stone, but it’s preferred. Don’t get me wrong—it’s their call. Their money.
However, more and more I’m seeing “trends” in publishing rather than individuality and vision. It’s like serving peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to kids because they’re kids. Some kids prefer tuna fish and some like egg salad and others just want the peanut butter or the jam. Trends often demonstrate that formula matters over substance, and riding the wave of a trend ushers in a temporary fix for selling woes and can make production and projection simpler.
I’m of the opinion that the current pat phrase used by professionals and many parrots of the mantra “less is more” is merely a preference for writing styles. We can pretend it’s profound and use it to demonstrate the overwriting of novices, but less is often just that: less. Not enough. Too lean. Too simple. Too . . . lacking in what is needed to give real depth and substance to what is just another story with less.
Father, help us to do what you desire of us. Help us to listen to your voice above all others. Keep us focused on what you want and not on what we want. We’re desperate for you. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.