: Re: Criticizing long fiction. How is it different from short? I recently asked about criticism regarding short pieces of fiction. What about longer works like novels? Surely no one can sit down and

@Jessie137

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I tend to judge stories on the success of their theme.

Characters create relatable and enviable anchors to follow through a story, while Plot is the sequence of story beats that are arranged to invoke and subvert reader expectations. Characters are usually a relatable hook, and plot is constructed to entertain, but the theme is a larger overall effect of the story that is not endlessly variable just by shifting around the details, it's a broader immutable structure that emerges from the synergy of the story components – hard to define exactly what is "theme" but most can recognize it when they see it.

Short stories do not have room to fully explore a theme. They often work as vignettes or a tableau – a slice of the theme which does not evolve, but just illustrates the concept. There may be room for a single twist that proves or subverts the theme, raising more questions than it answers. That twist typically comes at the end of the short story like a punctuation mark on the theme.

In a novel, I expect the theme to be explored in multiple ways. Several characters may represent various aspects of the theme, or the theme effects each differently. A novel may be able to fully abstract the theme, or transition to an unexpected theme, creating an analogy that feeds back onto the story. Themes of failed morals can be followed by a theme of redemption, themes of excess can be followed by themes about consequences.

There is also more time for a main character to repeat a theme, to show it is a lesson they need or cannot learn. The theme may be a hidden structure of the story that supersedes character and plot. The full exploration of the theme is what makes the novel feel finished. We know the story is over when the theme has played out or has looped back to the beginning.

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