I developing a set of stories with 2 main characters set in 3 timelines. The first is set during there childhood , the second during adolescence and the third as adults. The 3 stories are related to one an other. Should it be as short stories or as a novel in 3 parts?
You don't say how long the stories are. That would be one consideration. These days, a novel is typically somewhere between 70K and 100K words. Also, if the stories follow the same arc for the characters and are united by a theme, I'd say it sounds like a novel. Tom Rathman's The Imperfectionists shows glimpses of several different characters in different situations, but unites them in the story of a struggling publication. What story did you intend to tell when you started writing? That's really the deciding factor.
This sounds complicated. I hope this isn't your first attempt at writing a book. My gut says it is a novel and should proceed as they age. The different ages and timelines would be confusing as a set of short stories in my opinion, as it would only work if they were in chronological order with their ages too. But I don't really see this in my head yet, I'm sure you do though, right?
So far 2 of the 3 stories are short. One is 3486 words and the third 2360 words and probably the second around 2800 to 3000 words.
At this point, definitely not a novel. You may want to see if you can flesh out each of the stories to something more. Ask yourself what your ultimate goal is. Where do you want this to go?
The first main character as a unique ability not knowing the full truth about it but have to protect the second main character from a menace from the second character's past.
Sounds like an excellent basis for a significant story. I would suggest that you decide what you want the course of the story to be, where you want it to end up, then go back and build out the three pieces you have now. Best of luck.
Well, the way it goes the second main character is orphaned at a young age after a tragic beginning. Is raise with the first character with the special ability that he obtain from one of his parents from a other world. After which the parents past is reveled to the first character. As times goes by the 2 main characters must stop a menace from the past at the cost of the life of the second caractere.
It could be written as a trilogy, but if you can flesh it out and expand on the story line without watering it down, you could make it a part 1,2 & 3, novel.
Well the stories are to short for a trilogy. It would probably be a novella. I thought about merging part 2 with part 1. Have to make sure the 2 main characters are old enough since the 2 of them will face a traumatic event together.
Unless you are prepared to have all the underpinnings (past history, world building, etc) summarised in a few short paragraphs, this sounds like a novel to me. Perhaps what you've written thus far is more a summary of your story than anything else? This definitely doesn't sound like short story material, even though your word count is minimal. As @EdFromNY suggested, you need to focus very strongly on what you want to say. Are you a reader as well as a writer? Do you primarily read novels or short stories? See if you can get familiar with how short stories and novels are put together. Are your characters only given a few things to do, only one or two things happen to them—the end? If that's the case, you're probably leaning towards short stories. If you want to go into background detail, follow them through their lives, explore themes etc, that should probably end up being a novel. If you are leaning towards the novel form, but only have written a few thousand words for each section then I think you've written a synopsis or outline. All aspects of the story need to be fully developed for a novel to work. Be careful that you're not trying to tell the story too quickly. You need to draw the reader in by writing scenes that allow the readers to decide the significance of what they're 'seeing.' Don't tell the readers how they should react. Give them enough material so they can figure that out for themselves. Don't fall into the trap of 'telling' the story as if it were a fairy tale, telling us only 'what happened,' which is over in just a few pages. The pretty princess lived in the castle until her wicked stepmother threw her out, and she met a little fox on the road who gave her three magic objects, and she used each object to overcome three obstacles, ended up marrying a prince and lived happily ever after. The end. You'll need to draw the story out more.
This is the first time I'm writing a story. So far it looks more a novella then a novel. I don't want to go to far over my head.
You can afford to have a rich story world, with lots of highways and byways in a novel, but a short story needs to be focused on only one thing. You can get away with a bit more in a novella (a form I'm really not all that familiar with, as a writer.) Don't be afraid of 'getting over your head.' Instead, write what your story needs to get—and keep—a reader's attention. Worry about what to call it later on. I would say forget about word count, length, etc at this stage. Write the story and include what needs to be included in it. You might find out you've got a novel on your hands. (Advantage: novels are popular!) Just beware of trying to tell the story too quickly, by just telling us 'what happened.' Instead, let us share the experience of what your characters are going through. Which means more scenes set in 'real time,' not summary.
A Canticle for Leibowitz does something kind of similar, although a geographical location holds the three sections of that book together.
