Novelas e historias cortas

1. Novels and Short Stories
I just heard a nice quote from a well known writer about the
different ways to approach short story and longer fiction writing.
Writing a novel is like going into a dark room that's full of secrets,
and turning the overhead light full on; sooner or later you see
everything in the room.
Writing a short story is like going into a dark room full of secrets
and shining a torch on one spot; you might not see as much, but
you see it in incredible detail. What do people think about this? I'm
finding it quite useful as a way to get my head round approaching
different types of writing, is it accurate?

2. Novels and Short Stories
Literature offers us an inexhaustible source of
materials.
Approaching a literary text in class is often
challenging for both teacher and students.

3. Novels and Short Stories
Studying literary texts in class
Advantages
 Help maintain high level of
interest and motivation
 Stimulate discussion
 Give learners access to the
target language

4. Novels and Short Stories
Short stories have been useful in
introducing students in the world of
literature
Limited length
 can be read and analysed in a
reasonable short time
 learners feel they have successfully gone
through a whole text

5. Novels and Short Stories
Share a great many features in common
 involve a chronological sequence of
events, linked by relations of cause
and effect.
 a short story writer does what a
novelist does: adopts narrative
strategies, creates characters, plots,
settings and makes these elements
yield themes.

6. Novels and Short Stories
Short Stories are distinctive
 their length: Short stories are short.
 whatever happens, happens in a
limited number of words: every word
counts
 authors have to establish the
elements of the plot rapidly
 economic, suggestive use of language
 have fewer characters

7. Novels and Short Stories
Short Stories are distinctive
 quite often the story concentrates on
a dilemma of one character into
whose mind the reader has access.
 the way readers repond to them:
have an immediate impact, the
turning point has a correspondingly
greater impact.

8. Novels and Short Stories
Short Stories are distinctive
 The reader is often more aware of the
importance of the opening and close.
 Openings often draw attention on
themselves and control the reader’s
expectations and reactions for the
entire duration of the narrative

9. Novels and Short Stories
Novels
 length
 there is likely to be a larger cast of
characters
 plot: may be more complicated
 methods of narration can be more
complex (the same events may be
related by two different narrators

10. Novels and Short Stories
Novels
 Readers recall the caracters, scenes,
incidents
As in all literary texts there may be a
considerable overlap between the
characteristics of one genre and
another.

11. Just to bear in mind!
Recent thinking in the field of literature
tends to place more emphasis on
“helping learners interact with the
literary text” rather on “teaching
literature”