India, Nov. 20 -- Novellas and short stories have been around longer than novels and are known for their brevity and intensity. Novels, however, allow writers to explore the multiple complex dimensions of story, plot, subplot, and character. In this form, it is often difficult to make a character completely bad or entirely good; characters have to exhibit shades of grey. Though not a necessary precondition, the expansive scope of a novel encourages authors to think in this manner and to also offer sharp socio-political commentary.

Novellas and short stories present sharper moral clarity. They offer an emotional and intellectual continuum of experience, and can be read in a single sitting. Perhaps that's why authors choose the novella whe...