The Literary Novel

A novel is the literary equivalent of a symphony, the big, ambitious form of fiction. Novels aren't just longer than other forms of fiction, they generally have more of everything: more characters, more scenes, more developments, and more heft. They may have a central story, but the story is usually surrounded by a whole swirling world of activity. Someone once told me she could tell if a work was a novel or short story simply by reading the first sentence.

Alexander Steele, Fiction, 2003