Long Form Stories

Following from my previous post on short form stories, the long form story is basically the exact opposite. They are stories which make you care about the characters and locations involved.

Despite having a preference for writing short form stories, I appreciate the long form. When I read a good novel, I feel like I'm there. I'm not analyzing motives and symbols and such; I'm sitting around with the characters, watching everything happen. I share their plans and run with them in fields. I may not know who they are inside and out, but I know they are real people.

When you've spent 133 pages getting to know and meet and coming to really love a character, you want to weep when they die. You feel the same sadness at their funeral as the characters do, and you wish as much as they do that it didn't happen.

Long form stories also allow you to create lore. With so much time and so many experiences that happen, the readers can get a feel for how large an area the whole story takes place in, how many players are really involved, and how everything that happens can affect everything else.

The deepness you can achieve in getting to know characters and the places they live in allows a richness in long form stories that you simply cannot achieve in 5 pages. Ultimately, it is up to you to decide which style is more useful for conveying to the audience what you are wanting to say.