I love reading light novels and for some series the people recommend the web novel instead of the light novel I searched online on the difference between light novel and web novel but it only says different plot never how is the plot different.
I want to know the difference between a normal novel and a web novel and a light novel. And if you know other types that you can explain then please do.
Thank you.
In: Other
Normal novel, really long, it takes days to finish.
Light novel short, takes 10 hours or less.
Web novel, usually self published without editors and free.
A light novel is usually a short, illustrated novel aimed at young adults, often with simpler language and popular in Japan. A web novel is a story published online, often serialized, and can vary widely in style and length.
I mean web novel is easy, in that it’s published on the web.
Otherwise it’s basically marketing and target audience. Light novels are still novels, and some of them aren’t even that “light,” but if they’re targeted to the same audience and published by a LN publisher they’ll be marketed as light novels.
The label suggests a certain genre/style/subject matter, which helps set expectations for the reader, but of course there will be exceptions. Again, it’s basically just marketing.
Specific to the Japanese usage of Light Novel, it will be written using fewer kanji and more commonly known kanji than a literary novel. This makes it easier for a wider range of people to read it, particularly pre-teen and teenage audiences who are still learning more complex kanji.
From a publishing demographics point of view, a lot of LNs will be similar to English language Young Adult (YA) books, which also feature generally simpler language than books aimed at an adult audience.
In the sense you’re talking about:
* Web novel: self published on the web. Often, no editor to proof-read, review, etc. They can be “long”, but each chapter will be short and with simple language. Usually, chapters are published as an episodic nature.
* Light novel: story of the web novel gets popular, gets picked up by an editor and transformed into a light novel. May include major reworks of the story to make it attractive to a wider audience. Chapters also usually published as an episodic nature.
* Novel: has nothing to do with the former two. Much longer, more complex language. A novel is usually also a complete work published in one go. Some novel may be part of a series, but other than knowing plot points, each book stands on its own as a complete story. There is an editor/publisher behind it. Overall quality of the language is better. The story will be more coherent. There is a reason editors exists after all. Now, there can be self published novels that will not fit the definition of web or light novel in that they are more akin to a novel in size, complexity, etc.
The lines sometimes blur.
Also, that doesn’t mean all web novels are bad, but you are more likely to find bad ones. By that I mean plot holes, quality of the language, etc.
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