[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4_cf_fZDc0&feature=related]
I think–I’m pretty sure–Yeah, it looks like The River Lords could very well be novel material. As I passed the 10k word mark today I felt there was more that could be told…and still be interesting. For fun I decided to search online for clues that your short story is becoming a bigger story. I found this at the WriteAnything blog and decided to use it to evaluate my story. Annie Evett offers seven things to consider when making the decision. Here they are:
- Your short story just isn’t. — I find myself wanting to flesh out things more, provide more background, and explore the minor characters and setting more. However–and this is key–I like it as a story that leaves much to the reader to fill in gaps with their imaginations as well.
- Time frames are too long — Maybe. There is backstory. The story arc is non-linear, although not overly so. The scenes themselves keep the story moving, however. Because of my desire to explore this more, they could become too long without much trouble.
- People want to know more–I’ve gotten feedback from avid readers that they would like to know more.
- Originality–I’m never a hundred percent sure on these things until they’re done. 100% Original? No. Original enough due to the telling (as opposed to just the concepts, themes, characters)? Maybe
- Character Overload–No, although, again, I could see bringing other characters to the fore.
- The theme has not been fully developed–This could go either way. I’m a fan of leaving a good bit up to the reader, though I wonder if I’ve provided enough clues to bring the whole theme together (I should note that the them evolved with the telling. I didn’t set out with the theme in my conscious mind–That was pretty freakin’ cool)
- You can’t stop working on it–I don’t want to–yet.
So there you have it. I’m currently of the mind to go for both. I have it in my heart to submit a short story before I get back to work on revising the first draft of my first novel, Shadow of the Black City. I feel like I can tighten it up and make it shine at under 10,000 words. There’s a good chance that I’ll submit the polished short story to the Online Writing Workshop for feedback as well. Then, possibly as the occasional break from Shadow revisions, I’ll begin building out The River Lords into a full-length novel.