--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When you write a novel you have to live…" description: "\"When you write a novel you have to live with the characters for a long time. So I prefer short stories. I never wrote anything more than 250 pages.\" — ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea0/ruskin-bond-1864_books_when-you-write-a-novel-you-have-to-live_1431851.png" --- # When you write a novel you have to live with the… ![“When you write a novel you have to live with the characters for a long time. So I prefer short stories. I never wrote anything more than 250 pages.” quote by Ruskin Bond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea0/ruskin-bond-1864_books_when-you-write-a-novel-you-have-to-live_1431851.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea0/ruskin-bond-1864_books_when-you-write-a-novel-you-have-to-live_1431851.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea0/ruskin-bond-1864_books_when-you-write-a-novel-you-have-to-live_1431851.png) > “When you write a novel you have to live with the characters for a long time. So I prefer short stories. I never wrote anything more than 250 pages.” [Ruskin Bond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruskin-bond/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Long novels require sustained character development, which can become burdensome; short stories offer concise engagement with fewer characters. **In simple terms:** Long novels are demanding; short stories are simpler. Key Takeaway Choose the format that fits your stamina. Themes writing character development format choice Mood reflective thoughtful Type advice literary When to use this quote - novel writing - short story creation - publishing decisions Key Concepts literature creative process Questions to Reflect On - Do you prefer depth or brevity? - How does character longevity affect your writing? A Different Perspective Short stories may lack depth of longer works. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [250 Pages](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/250-pages-5099662/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Characters Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/characters-long-560974/) [Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long/) [Long time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long-time/) [Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel/) [Pages](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pages/) [Short stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/short-stories/) [Short story](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/short-story/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Write](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/write/) [Write Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/write-novel/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [The rules seem to be these: If you have written a successful novel, everyone invites you to write short stories. 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Why do you need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/channing-tatum/you-don-t-need-to-like-any-of-the-characters-as-long-as-you-can/) [Channing Tatum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/channing-tatum/) ## More by Ruskin Bond > ['live long my friend,be wise and strong, but do not take from any man his song'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruskin-bond/live-long-my-friend-be-wise-and-strong-but-do-not-take-from-any-man/) [Ruskin Bond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruskin-bond/) > [Unhappy and unsettled childhood helps in writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruskin-bond/unhappy-and-unsettled-childhood-helps-in-writing/) [Ruskin Bond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruskin-bond/) > [“As Grandfather used to say, 'In a crowd, everyone plays follow-the leader, even when they don't know who's leading.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruskin-bond/as-grandfather-used-to-say-in-a-crowd-everyone-plays-follow-the/) [Ruskin Bond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruskin-bond/) > [I don't travel so much now, I get tired](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruskin-bond/i-don-t-travel-so-much-now-i-get-tired/) [Ruskin Bond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruskin-bond/) > [I was a bookworm in school, and in those days it was easy to get books. 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Obviously he can't spend the rest of his life climbing trees,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruskin-bond/all-of-us-need-just-one-good-accomplishment-in-order-to-get-by/) [Ruskin Bond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruskin-bond/) > [I get inspiration from a lot of things around me - nature, hills, people, and even insects.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruskin-bond/i-get-inspiration-from-a-lot-of-things-around-me-nature-hills-people/) [Ruskin Bond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruskin-bond/) > [I fortunately have a good memor, and that helps a lot in the way I write.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruskin-bond/i-fortunately-have-a-good-memor-and-that-helps-a-lot-in-the-way-i/) [Ruskin Bond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruskin-bond/) > [“Nandprayag is a place that ought to be famous for its beauty and order. For a mile or two before reaching it we had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruskin-bond/nandprayag-is-a-place-that-ought-to-be-famous-for-its-beauty-and/) [Ruskin Bond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruskin-bond/) > [I had a bad habit of falling in love with any girl who was nice to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruskin-bond/i-had-a-bad-habit-of-falling-in-love-with-any-girl-who-was-nice-to-me/) [Ruskin Bond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruskin-bond/) > [I did all kind of jobs to sustain myself. I worked at a grocery store, in the public health department, and what was then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruskin-bond/i-did-all-kind-of-jobs-to-sustain-myself-i-worked-at-a-grocery-store/) [Ruskin Bond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruskin-bond/) > [But the trees seemed to know me. They whispered among themselves and beckoned me nearer. And looking around, I noticed the other small trees…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruskin-bond/but-the-trees-seemed-to-know-me-they-whispered-among-themselves-and/) [Ruskin Bond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruskin-bond/) > [“A good monk would know that contentment is easier to attain than happiness, and that it is enough.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruskin-bond/a-good-monk-would-know-that-contentment-is-easier-to-attain-than/) [Ruskin Bond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruskin-bond/) [Explore all 199 Ruskin Bond quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruskin-bond/) ## More Books quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) > [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [“Within the pages of books, I've journeyed to Mandalay, the Milky Way and Santa Fe, without once having to leave my armchair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-ansbro/within-the-pages-of-books-i-ve-journeyed-to-mandalay-the-milky-way/) [Kevin Ansbro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-ansbro/) > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“Tacitus did not write a most dangerous book. His readers made it so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-k-krebs/tacitus-did-not-write-a-most-dangerous-book-his-readers-made-it-so/) [Christopher K. 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