Novel | Creative Writing, Definition & Examples
A novel is a long-form work of fiction that tells a story through characters, settings, and events. It is written in prose, meaning the ordinary form of spoken or written language. Novels are typically longer and more developed than short stories, allowing writers to explore complex plots, characters, relationships, and themes.
Novels can cover almost any subject or genre, such as romance, mystery, fantasy, and historical fiction. They can also take different structural forms, such as graphic novels or novels written through letters and other documents.
Key takeaways
- A novel is a long-form work of fiction that uses characters, plot, setting, dialogue, and narration to tell a developed story.
- Novels typically offer more space for complex characters, relationships, themes, and plots than shorter forms of fiction.
- There are many types of novels, including graphic novels, epistolary novels, romance, thrillers, coming-of-age stories, and historical fiction.
- Understanding different novel types can help you recognize how writers use genre and structure to shape a story.
Explore our tools
What is a novel?
A novel is a long-form prose about fictional people and events. It tells a story through a combination of characters, dialogue, action, and narration. Unlike shorter forms of fiction, novels generally have more space to develop a story and explore its characters and themes in depth.
Most novels are divided into chapters and follow a central plot, although their structure can vary. It can focus on a single protagonist, follow several characters, or tell multiple interconnected stories. Novels can also be written in many different styles and formats.
- Fictional Story: It tells an imaginary story
- Prose: It is written in the ordinary form of spoken or written language
- Length: It has a substantial word count, usually starting at around 40,000 words
- Narrative Structure: It features core storytelling elements, like a plot, character development, a problem, a climax, and a resolution
Novel as an adjective
When novel is used as an adjective, it has a different meaning. It describes something new, original, or unfamiliar. If something is novel, it has not been seen or experienced before.
- We should come up with a novel idea to solve this problem
- Traveling to Asia for the first time was a novel experience for me
- His novel painting technique changed the way I look at art
Types of novels
There are many different types of novels, often categorized by their genre, subject matter, or format. Some novels fit into more than one category, combining different storytelling techniques.
Graphic novel
A graphic novel is a book-length narrative that combines illustrations with written text to tell a story. Like traditional novels, graphic novels can feature complex characters, plots, and themes, but much of the storytelling takes place through the visual artwork.
Graphic novels can cover a wide range of genres, including fantasy, science fiction, romance, mystery, and historical fiction. They are sometimes confused with comic books, but graphic novels are generally longer and are published as complete stories.
- Maus by Art Spiegelman: A story about the Holocaust with Jewish people drawn as mice and Nazis as cats
- Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi: A memoir about a young girl growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution
- V for Vendetta by Alan Moore and David Lloyd: A dystopian novel about an anarchist fighting against a fascist regime in the United Kingdom
Epistolary novel
An epistolary novel tells its story through documents such as letters, diary entries, emails, or newspaper articles. Instead of relying on a traditional narrator, the story is pieced together through the documents created by its characters.
This format can give readers a direct view of a character’s thoughts, feelings, and experiences. It can also allow the same events to be presented from different perspectives.
- Dracula by Bram Stoker: A story describing the encounters with Dracula, told through letters, diary entries, and newspaper articles
- The Color Purple by Alice Walker: Letters written by the protagonist addressed to God and her sister
- On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong: A long letter from a young Vietnamese-American man to his mother, who cannot read
Romance novel
A romance novel focuses primarily on a romantic relationship and the emotional journey of its characters. The development of the relationship is usually central to the plot.
Romance novels can be combined with many other genres, including historical fiction, fantasy, mystery, and thriller. While their settings and storylines can vary widely, the romantic relationship generally remains an important part of the narrative.
- Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen: Elizabeth Bennet and the wealthy Mr. Darcy overcome their initial judgments
- The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks: Two people from different social backgrounds fall in love
- Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë: A governess falls in love with her employer
Thriller
A thriller is a novel designed to create suspense, tension, and excitement. Thrillers often place their characters in dangerous situations and keep readers anticipating what will happen next.
Thrillers can explore many different subjects and settings. Common types include psychological thrillers, crime thrillers, political thrillers, and legal thrillers. They often use plot twists, secrets, conflicts, and time-sensitive situations to maintain suspense.
- Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn: A woman goes missing on her wedding anniversary
- The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson: A disgraced journalist and a hacker team up to solve a decades-old disappearance
- The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides: A famous painter shoots her husband and then stops speaking to anyone
Coming-of-age novel
A coming-of-age novel focuses on a character’s transition from childhood or adolescence into adulthood. These novels often explore identity, relationships, independence, personal responsibility, and the challenges of growing up.
The protagonist typically experiences events that change their understanding of themselves or the world around them.
- The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger: A sixteen-year-old contemplates growing up and living in the adult world
- The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky: A shy freshman navigates his first year of high school
- The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton: The protagonist deals with class conflict, brotherhood, and the painful loss of innocence
Historical fiction
A historical fiction novel is a fictional story set in a real historical period. It often incorporates historical events, settings, and people while using fictional characters or storylines.
Historical fiction can help readers explore different periods and cultures through the experiences of its characters. It can also combine with other genres, such as romance, thriller, mystery, or coming-of-age stories.
- All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr: A story about a blind French girl and a German orphan whose paths cross during World War II
- The Book Thief by Markus Zusak: A young foster girl steals books and shares them in Nazi Germany
- The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah: Two estranged sisters find ways to survive the German occupation in France
Frequently asked questions about novels
- What is the definition of a graphic novel?
-
A graphic novel is a long-form story that uses a combination of illustrations, dialogue, and written narration. The artwork is an essential part of the storytelling, helping establish characters, settings, events, and emotions.
Graphic novels span genres such as fantasy, science fiction, romance, mystery, and historical fiction. Although they share similarities with comic books, graphic novels are typically presented as longer works.
Explore the definitions of different novel types with Quillbot’s AI Chat.
- What is the definition of a coming-of-age novel?
-
A coming-of-age novel is a story that follows a character as they move from childhood or adolescence into adulthood. These novels often explore themes such as identity, relationships, independence, responsibility, and personal growth.
The main character usually faces experiences or challenges that shape their perspective and help them better understand themselves and the world around them.
Writing a long-form text and need some help with your grammar? Save time with Quillbot’s free Grammar Checker.
- What is the definition of a light novel?
-
A light novel is a type of Japanese novel written in a straightforward, accessible style, often for young adult readers. Light novels commonly include manga-style illustrations.
They are generally shorter and easier to read than conventional novels, with a strong focus on fast-paced storytelling, dialogue, and character development. Light novels are also often published as a series, with each volume continuing the same story or following recurring characters.
Experiment with your own light novel ideas using Quillbot’s AI Novel Title Generator.
- What is the definition of an epistolary novel?
-
An epistolary novel is a story told through a collection of written documents, such as letters, diary entries, emails, or newspaper articles. Rather than using a conventional narrator, the plot unfolds through the different documents created by the characters.
This structure can give readers a closer look at a character’s thoughts, feelings, and personal experiences. It can also present events from multiple viewpoints, allowing readers to see how different characters understand the same situation.
Writing your own epistolary novel? Improve the flow of your text with Quillbot’s Paraphrasing Tool.
- What are examples of novels?
-
There are many types and examples of novels. Some well-known works are:
- Maus by Art Spiegelman
- Dracula by Bram Stoker
- Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
- Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
- The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger
- All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
For more examples of novels, ask Quillbot’s AI Chat to “recommend examples of novels.”
