7 differences between a story and a novel

Both belong to the epic or narrative genre, but the truth is that they are two subgenres with totally different characteristics from each other. Today we want to talk about the 7 differences between a story and a novel.

Maybe you already have a slight idea that they are not equal stories.. However, in the following article we will delve into all the literary aspects that influence its parallel development. Let’s see.

Similarities between a story and a novel

Stories and novels correspond to the act of narrative communication. That is, the one we use when we relate a series of actions carried out by characters in a specific time and place. Therefore, they have characteristics that unite them:

They are common in society. In fact, Both creations can be found anywhere in the world.On the other hand, literary narrative is a self-referential or fictional narrative. That is to say, The one who tells us the stories is not the author, but the narrator (the voice created by the author).

Differences between a story and a novel

Of course, although both subgenres belong to narrative, they differ from each other in 7 main characteristics: brevity, theme, plot, space-time, characters, editing and the title itself.

Tale

Its origin comes from oral tradition. In fact, according to specialist María Jesús Zamora Calvo, during the Middle Ages other terms were preferred to refer to short stories: fables, fabiellas, examplesapologies, proverbs, punishments, etc.

The term “story” comes from the Latin verb I will compute, with the sense of ‘calculate, compute’. From this meaning, it comes to mean ‘telling stories’ and at this moment, instead of listing objects, it starts to list events. Apart from the origin, it also presents other differences to consider due to its:

Brevity: The main difference between a short story and a novel is its brevity. In this sense, The short story is usually much shorter than the novel.Theme: The stories will have a monothematic character. That is, it focuses on a single aspect.Argument: as a rule, simpler than that of a novel.Space time: there is space-time unity. That is to say, the events usually occur in a single area or place, and in a short period of time.Characters: the protagonists are usually schematic (they fulfill a role). As a rule, what we know about them is restricted to the space-time framework of the story.Edition: in general, the stories They are usually published in anthologies.Qualification: The title of the stories is usually descriptive of the narrative.

Novel

Currently, the novel is experiencing a period of absolute splendor, and this has been the case since approximately the 19th century; as stated in an article published by the National Autonomous University of Mexico in 2018.

In this line, It is an extensive narrative (but not so much in a quantitative sense, but more of implications). Therefore, a novel will be a narrative that differs from the story due to its:

Brevity: It is a narrative that is usually extensive. In fact, it is common for the narrator to make digressions (digressions in the story).Theme: in a single novel different topics that converge with each other can be discussed without counteracting each other (fantasy, horror, adventure, romantic, police, western, existential, etc.).Argument: There is no plot outline.Space time: time and space change. So, time is longer and the action takes place in different places (in fact, there are more than one). In addition, the periods are also described in great detail.Characters: The protagonists are no longer going to be schematic nor are they going to respond to a single idea, but rather their construction is much more complex, with a longer and deeper description.Edition: The novel, unlike stories, can be edited individually.Qualification: In the stories this part anticipated what we were going to read. However, in the novel this does not happen (for example, see the cases of Beehive by Camilo José Cela or The science tree by Pío Baroja). This way, you don’t need to grab the reader’s attention immediately because the novel has perspectivethat is why the title is not decisive.

Story and novel, different creations

Perhaps before you had already imagined that brevity was one of the main differences between a story and a novel, but we hope that this information has been useful to you to further deepen your literary knowledge. In fact, the science that studies these aspects is known as theory of literature, and it is essential to establish a deep and solid classification as far as possible.

Now, faced with a totally technological society, it faces new challenges that are affecting some issues such as authorship, the message, sender-receiver communication or the publishing industry (anyone can open a Blog and develop a new subgenre). That’s why, We will have to wait and be attentive to the news of future stories and novels.

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