Genre: Novellas

My reviews this week are of two novella collections, which made me wonder: what, exactly, is a novella? A visit to trusty Wikipedia shows that this is a topic for debate.  It is generally agreed that a novella is shorter than a novel and longer than a novelette or short story, but there is no clear definition of exact word counts.

Many famous works of English fiction are actually novellas, including Animal Farm (George Orwell), Breakfast at Tiffany’s (Truman Capote), A Christmas Carol (Charles Dickens) and The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (Robert Louis Stephenson).  A novelette is (by definition, perhaps) shorter than a novella, but longer than a short story. 

According to Wikipedia, a novella has fewer conflicts than a novel, lacks multiple points of view and does not have chapters.  Well, the novellas I have read certainly all have chapters, and most also tell the story from more than one point of view, so this is obviously not a universal definition. Perhaps the important definition is that of word count, as that is typically the distinction between a novel and a novella in a literary competition. The Romance Writers of America RITA Awards define a novella as between 20,000 and 40,000 words, while the Christy Awards (for Christian fiction) do not have a separate category for novellas.

Christian novels are generally between 90,000 and 120,000 words long, with a definite preference for works to be at the lower end of that scale (Christian romance novels seldom exceed 100,000 words).  Love Inspired novels are around 60,000 words, while Love Inspired Historical novels are 75,000.  Longer novels are published, but generally only from established authors (e.g. Francine Rivers).  My assumption is that this is because the additional printing cost cuts into profit, as most novels are priced at US$12.99 to $US14.99 and the consumer appears unwilling to pay extra simply because the book is longer.  Note that these figures only apply to adult fiction: young adult novels can apparently be as short as 16,000 words, with a typical maximum of 50,000.

There are varying definitions of length for a short story, with a general minimum of 1,000 words, and a maximum ranging from 7,500 to 20,000 words, depending on which source you look at. The idea of a short story is that it can be read in one sitting, but on a rainy day I can easily read a full-length novel in one sitting so this might not be the best indicator! A story shorter than 1,000 words is, apparently, a short-short story.

I recently came across an even shorter literary form: a drabble. A drabble is an extremely short work of fiction, being exactly 100 words long, originating in the 1980’s in UK fan fiction. Wikipedia also mentions nanofiction, microfiction and flash fiction, all exactly 55 words long.  As a work of fiction, a drabble and nanofiction must have all the constituent parts of fiction: protagonist, conflict, obstacles or complications, and resolution. Hard enough to fit into 100 words, even harder to fit into just 55!

P.S. If you are interested in word counts, have a look at these posts from two well-known literary agents:
Colleen Lindsay
Rachelle Gardner (2009 post)
Rachelle Gardner (2008 post)

Genre: Amish Fiction

I have a couple of reviews of Amish fiction coming up, with more due in early 2012. It has been a while since I read any, and as it is set in quite a different ‘world’ to most fiction, I thought I would start by giving a bit of an introduction to the genre for those who haven’t been exposed to Amish fiction before.

Amish fiction typically focuses on the Old Order Amish of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania and other communities around the United States. The Amish are often referred to as ‘Plain’ or ‘Pennsylvania Dutch’, a corruption of ‘Deutsch’, as they typically speak a variant of German in their homes, although they also speak English. The Amish refer to non-Amish as ‘English’ (regardless of national or racial heritage) or as ‘Fancy’. The Mennonites have similar beliefs, but are more progressive in that they wear more contemporary clothes and use ‘worldly’ devices.

The Amish religion and traditions grew out of the Anabaptist reformers who rejected to what they felt were corrupt practices in the Protestant and Catholic religions of the 1500's. The Amish stress the importance of “keeping the body pure and spotless and free from the contaminating influences of the worldly aspects of life”. Common Amish rules include separation from the world, hard work, a woman’s submission to her husband and mode of dress.

Although the initial reason for leaving the established church was the Amish belief that congregation members are just as capable of interpreting the Bible as the clergy, they do not have “personal evangelism, personal Bible studies, and personal conversions… Such behaviour would threaten to elevate the individual over the community. Those who do attempt to show of their Biblical knowledge by quoting the scriptures are referred to as ‘Scripture Proud’…. They feel it would be an egotistical expression of vanity to ever claim they are certain of their eternal salvation. Instead, they feel it is their duty to live obediently to God's will and, in due time, God will reward the faithful.”

The Amish have no central church government, and live by a behavioural code called the Ordnung. The Ordnung covers every aspect of day-to-day living, and includes prohibitions or limitations on the use of power-line electricity, telephones, and automobiles, as well as regulations on clothing. Rules might differ by district (for instance, one district might be allowed to use a telephone but another might not), and disobeying the rules can result in ‘shunning’ – removal from the community until the individual repents. However, the Amish freely forgive, most publicly following a schoolhouse shooting in 2006 that left five young girls dead, now the subject of the movie Amish Grace.

While the rules of the Ordnung often sound rigid and controlling (groups have apparently been known to separate over infractions as minor as the width of a hat brim), the focus is meant to be on building and guarding character, to guide people into more Christ-like behaviour. Gelassenheit, or submission to the will of God, is central to their beliefs, and is shown through obedience, humility and simplicity. Individuality, selfishness and pride are abhorrent. The Amish seek to live lives devoted to God, family and community, based on God’s laws, valuing freedom of heart, peace of mind and a clear conscience. While the rules may seem restricting to outsiders, there is much to admire in the Amish culture, and this attracts the modern ‘English’ reader.

Popular Christian authors of Amish fiction include:

Wanda E Brunstetter
Linda Byler
Vanetta Chapman
Mindy Starns Clark
Amy Clipston
Diane Christner
Jerry Eicher
Mary Ellis
Suzanne Woods Fisher
Katherine Fuller
Ann H Gabhart
Tricia Goyer
Laura Hilton
BJ Hoff
Beverley Lewis
Hillary Manton Lodge
Kelly Long
Judith Miller
Marta Perry
Shelley Shepard Gray
Ruth Reid
Gayle Roper
Anna Schmidt
Beth Wiseman
Cindy Woodsmall

Most Amish fiction is contemporary, with a focus on the juxtaposition between ‘Plain’ life and the modern world. Some authors write Amish fiction exclusively, with the plot and characters all or mostly Amish. Others may be set in Lancaster County, but with ‘English’ main characters and only bring in the Amish as minor characters or plot points. Some authors also write ‘regular’ Christian fiction (romance, romantic suspense, historical, contemporary).

(Information from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amish. Quotes from http://www.welcome-to-lancaster-county.com/amish-religion.html).