Novel

A Novel is a written fictional work that tells a extended narrative through prose form featuring developed characters, plot structures, and thematic elements.

• AKA: Fictional Prose Narrative, Book-Length Fiction.
• Context:
  • It can typically be created by a single novelist through sustained creative effort and narrative vision.
  • It can typically present fictional world through setting description, character development, and plot progression.
  • It can typically explore human experience through emotional journeys, moral challenges, and social interactions.
  • It can typically contain narrative elements such as exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution.
  • It can typically address universal themes such as love, death, power, identity, and human condition.
  • ...
  • It can often employ literary techniques such as point of view, symbolism, foreshadowing, irony, and metaphor.
  • It can often incorporate dialogue through character speech, interior monologue, and narrative voice.
  • It can often present conflict through character versus character, character versus self, character versus society, and character versus nature.
  • It can often reflect cultural context through historical setting, social norms, and political environment.
  • It can often engage reader response through emotional identification, intellectual stimulation, and moral questioning.
  • ...
  • It can range from being a Minimalist Novel to being a Maximalist Novel, depending on its stylistic approach.
  • It can range from being a Linear Novel to being a Non-linear Novel, depending on its temporal structure.
  • It can range from being a Plot-driven Novel to being a Character-driven Novel, depending on its narrative emphasis.
  • It can range from being a Single-perspective Novel to being a Multiple-perspective Novel, depending on its narrative viewpoint.
  • It can range from being a Commercial Novel to being a Literary Novel, depending on its artistic intention and market positioning.
  • ...
  • It can exist in physical formats including hardcover novels, paperback novels, limited edition novels, and large print novels.
  • It can exist in digital formats including e-book novels, audiobook novels, interactive novels, and app-based novels.
  • It can contain structural components such as chapters, prologues, epilogues, footnotes, and appendices.
  • It can undergo publishing processes including manuscript preparation, editorial revision, book design, and market distribution.
  • It can receive critical assessment through literary reviews, scholarly analysis, reader ratings, and award recognition.
  • ...
• Examples:
  • Novel Genres, such as:
    • Literary Fiction Novels, such as:
      • To the Lighthouse (1927), exploring stream of consciousness technique and family dynamics.
      • One Hundred Years of Solitude (1967), exemplifying magical realism and multi-generational saga.
    • Historical Novels, such as:
      • War and Peace (1869), depicting napoleonic wars and russian aristocracy.
      • Wolf Hall (2009), reimagining tudor england through contemporary prose.
    • Science Fiction Novels, such as:
      • Frankenstein (1818), examining scientific ethics and human creation.
      • Dune (1965), presenting complex political ecology and religious prophecy.
    • Mystery Novels, such as:
      • The Hound of the Baskervilles (1902), featuring detective protagonist and atmospheric suspense.
      • The Name of the Rose (1980), combining medieval setting with semiotic investigation.
    • Romance Novels, such as:
      • Pride and Prejudice (1813), portraying social manners and romantic misconception.
      • Jane Eyre (1847), combining gothic elements with female bildungsroman.
    • Satirical Novels, such as:
      • Don Quixote (1605), mocking chivalric romance through picaresque adventure.
      • Catch-22 (1961), critiquing military bureaucracy through circular logic.
  • Novel Structural Types, such as:
    • Epistolary Novels, such as:
      • Pamela (1740), constructed through character letters and journal entries.
      • The Color Purple (1982), presenting narrative through correspondence and personal writing.
    • Bildungsroman Novels, such as:
      • David Copperfield (1850), chronicling protagonist development from childhood to adulthood.
      • The Catcher in the Rye (1951), portraying adolescent alienation and identity search.
    • Experimental Novels, such as:
      • Ulysses (1922), employing multiple literary styles and stream of consciousness.
      • House of Leaves (2000), utilizing unconventional typography and nested narratives.
    • Graphic Novels, such as:
      • Maus (1991), addressing holocaust experience through anthropomorphic characters.
      • Persepolis (2000), depicting iranian revolution through personal memoir.
  • Novel by Historical Periods, such as:
    • Early Modern Novels, such as:
      • Robinson Crusoe (1719), considered an early english novel with realistic narrative.
      • Gulliver's Travels (1726), combining fantastical voyage with social critique.
    • Victorian Novels, such as:
      • Great Expectations (1861), exploring class mobility and moral growth.
      • Middlemarch (1871-72), presenting provincial society with psychological depth.
    • Modernist Novels, such as:
      • Mrs. Dalloway (1925), utilizing single-day structure and psychological interiority.
      • The Sound and the Fury (1929), employing fragmented chronology and multiple perspectives.
    • Postmodernist Novels, such as:
      • Gravity's Rainbow (1973), featuring paranoid narrative and encyclopedic reference.
      • Infinite Jest (1996), exploring addiction themes through footnoted digression.
    • Contemporary Novels, such as:
      • The Road (2006), depicting post-apocalyptic journey with minimalist prose.
      • Cloud Atlas (2004), presenting nested narratives across different time periods.
  • ...
• Counter-Examples:
  • Short Story, which maintains narrative fiction but with condensed length, limited characters, and focused incident rather than the extended development of a novel.
  • Memoir, which presents personal experience through non-fiction narrative rather than fictional invention.
  • Poetry, which employs verse structure, heightened language, and rhythmic pattern rather than extended prose narrative.
  • Drama, which is primarily designed for theatrical performance through character dialogue and stage direction rather than readerly consumption.
  • Essay, which presents authorial argument, personal reflection, or information sharing rather than fictional storytelling.
  • Academic Treatise, which focuses on scholarly analysis and factual presentation rather than imaginative creation.
• See: Fiction, Narrative, Literature, Prose, Character, Plot, Setting, Theme, Literary Genre, Publishing.

---

---

References

2023

• Bing search "A novel is a "
  • A novel is a type of literary work that is usually written in prose and tells a long and complex story about human experiences. A novel typically consists of a connected sequence of events involving a group of characters in a specific setting. Novels can belong to different genres, such as romance, mystery, fantasy, science fiction, historical fiction, and more. Novels are different from other forms of fiction, such as short stories, novellas, or fables, in terms of length, scope, and realism. Novels are considered to be one of the most popular and influential forms of art and entertainment in the modern world. ¹²³⁴⁵
  • Source: Conversation with Bing, 11/8/2023
    1. Novel | Definition, Elements, Examples, Types, & Facts. https://www.britannica.com/art/novel.
    2. Novel Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/novel.
    3. What Is a Novel? Definition and Characteristics - ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-a-novel-4685632.
    4. Novel - Examples and Definition of Novel - Literary Devices. https://literarydevices.net/novel/.
    5. Novel - Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Novel.

---