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What is a Novel?
Generally speaking, a novel is a fictional book of a certain length that includes a story and characters and explores the use of characterization and metaphor to support a main theme. The term 'novel' derived from the word 'novella' when writing prose became more complicated and longform. While there are many forms of writing which include stories and characters, novels have a few distinguishing features.
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The Old and New: Defining 'Novel'
Getting to the bottom of what makes a 'novel': a novel is like meeting an old friend all over again. In the simplest terms, a novel is a fictional prose work of considerable length. Beyond that, though, novels aren't so simple anymore.
