Novelette

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A novelette (or novelet) is a piece of short prose fiction. The distinction between a novelette and other literary forms, like a novella, is usually based upon word count. The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America Nebula awards for science fiction define the novelette as having a word count between 7,500 and 17,500 in length.^[1]

The terms novelette and novelettish can also be derogatory, suggesting fiction which is "trite, feeble or sentimental" (Chambers Dictionary).

The word was used by the composer Robert Schumann as a title for some piano pieces, a choice that reflected his literary background and interests. The music in question (op. 21, and op. 99 no. 9) is episodic however and does not especially resemble a narrative. He was followed by Niels Gade, Stephen Heller and much later by Poulenc, Lutoslawski ("Novelette for Orchestra"), Chaminade, Alexander Tcherepnin, and Gershwin ("Novelette in Fourths").