Books Quote by Ellen Glasgow
“A good novel cannot be too long or a bad novel too short.”
About This Quote
Source Novel: "In This Our Life" by Ellen Glasgow, 1941
A novel's length should suit its story; too long dilutes impact, too short leaves it underdeveloped.
In simple terms: Balance length with story depth.
Key Takeaway
Write concisely, but fully develop ideas.
Themes
literature
structure
craft
Mood
analytical
practical
Type
advice
literary
When to use this quote
- book reviews
- creative writing workshops
- publishing
- teaching writing
Key Concepts
narrative pacing
editing
storytelling
Questions to Reflect On
- How do you decide a story's appropriate length?
- When is brevity more powerful than detail?
A Different Perspective
Length alone doesn't guarantee quality.
![“If I organize my life in such a way that I get lots of long, consecutive, uninterrupted time-chunks, I can write novels. [If I instead get interrupted a lot] what replaces it? Instead of a novel that will be around for a long time… there is a bunch of e-mail messages that I have sent out to…” quote by Cal Newport](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/90e/cal-newport-1302_books_if-i-organize-my-life-in-such-a-way-that_1000847.jpg)
