Storytelling Versus Novel Writing

Dean Koontz tells stories.
Jim Crace writes novels.

Storytellers win readers.
Novelists win prizes.

Charles Dickens told stories.
Leo Tolstoy wrote novels*.
* Exceptions are some of ol' Peaceful Leo's short stories, such as which are pure storytelling in a grand manner.

Storytellers get paid.
Novel writers get recognized.

Storytellers get buzz.
Novel writers get trendy.

Storytellers are simple people who want to relate to readers.
Novel writers are complex people who want to -ize (**) to an audience.
** - Theor-ize, moral-ize, recogn-ize, dev-ize, dramat-ize, and so on.

Storytellers envisage, feel, and evoke.
Novelists imagine, hear, and invoke.

Great storytellers are forgotten and their stories last forever.
Great novelists are remembered ("canon-ized") and their stories are forgotten.

Storytellers get fan mail, fan sites, fan fiction.
Novelists get criticism, literary or otherwise.

Storyteller's work is made into movies.
Novelist's work is made into remainder pulp.

So have I made the distinction between story and novel clear enough? Thanks for your feedback and emails.

The 80-20 rule applies here again. I have said that in that elite 20% of writers who earn 80% of the income, there is a super elite subject to the 80-20 law: the four percent. The next entry will concern their work exclusively.