I’m trying something new these days, working on a project that’s much shorter than a novel but much longer than a short story: a novella. Sounds cute, doesn’t it?
A novella typically clocks in between 10 000 – 20 000 words. This particular novella keeps surprising me, both in form and content. I thought I was writing a short story (under 5000 words) back in the spring, but the ideas kept expanding, spinning out, forcing me to give them space. Not only is this the first new project I’ve started since the pandemic hit, it’s also set in 2020. Maybe that’s why it’s so weird. I keep veering into dreamlike magic realism, which is a huge change from anything else I’ve written.
(In case you’re wondering: yes, I finally finished my novel back at the end of September! I’m now onto the stage of sending queries out to agents, with the hopes of finding someone who believes in my book as much as I do and wants to find me a kick-ass publishing deal. Fingers are crossed!)
I’m working on a first draft of the novella now, trying to get this finished before the December holidays. In the new year, I’ll take a step back and attempt to figure out what the heck is going on with this rough beast of a project (Character arcs? Themes? Whatever’s going on with the supernatural mountain lion school mascot that’s haunting my narrative?)… After all the nit-picky novel polishing of the past few months/years, I’m really enjoying the breakneck craziness of drafting something new.
Oh, and one more fun thing: I’ve created a Spotify playlist for the novella’s two main characters, teenage sisters who have very different taste in music. You’re welcome to check it out!
Rebecca Morris 