It happens all the time: A writer publishes a wonderful collection of short stories and then moves into the heady world of the novel. But why did he or she decide to go long? Was there pressure to take on a novel? Did the new story dictate a higher word count? Did the writer simply feel inspired to shift focus?
I spoke with 18 authors — already successful in working small — about their decision to write a novel. Some are just now first-time novelists (or will have their first novels published soon), while others made the transition early in their careers. With each, I asked this one question: What made you take the leap from short fiction/essays to the novel?
1. Maya Lang
2. Courtney Maum
3. Lydia Davis
4. Charles Baxter
5. Roxane Gay
6. Rebecca Makkai
7. Laura van den Berg
8. Vanessa Blakeslee
9. Bret Anthony Johnston
10. Jennine Capó Crucet
11. Julia Elliott
12. Jess Row
13. Ondjaki
14. Amelia Gray
15. Ted Thompson
16. Lindsay Hunter
17. Stephen Graham Jones
18. Kevin Wilson
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Benjamin Woodard is a short story writer. His recent work has appeared in Cheap Pop, Vol. 1 Brooklyn, and decomP magazinE. He is an editor at Numéro Cinq Magazine and a regular contributor to Publishers Weekly and Rain Taxi Review of Books.