One of the things that I personally struggle with as a writer is focusing on the word-count too much. I daydream, imagining my own books on the shelves… and they're always thick like Lord of the rings. Then I open up my notes and see how many pages I've written so far, and I get upset over it. This caused for a question to arise:
HOW MANY WORDS SHOULD A GOOD BOOK HAVE?!
My opinion is that…
The word count should be subordinate to the story, not the story to the word count!
Remember what is important - that the book is thick, or that it's a well-written book?
Thinking about “hitting a certain amount of words” often unnecessarily stresses you out, may cause you to overthink your abilities, and even cause a writing block!
Having word-count expectations can also bound you down and limit the scene for your story. On the other hand it can become an unreachable spot that will demotivate you to write.
If you're in the process of writing and you're unsure about the word count, ask yourself those questions:
• Is the pacing in your story right?
• Is there tension in your story?
• Did the characters have enough time to shine?
• Was your message passed on?
• Did you show the world you created to the audience?
• Has the story reached its planned conclusion?
If you answered “yes” to all of the questions, it seems you can finish your story and move on. If you answered “no” to some or all of the questions, then you should probably spend more time on your story before finishing it.
(That's just a general recommendation and of course each case is specific)
Expecting a specific word count is also bound to toxic productivity - and we don't want that ;)
After getting that off my chest, let's get to the technicalities. The numbers presented here are approximate:
Vignette: under 1000 words
Flash fiction: under 1500 words
Short-story: 1500-7500 words
Novelette: 7500-20 000 words
Novella: 20 000-40 000 words
Novel: 40 000-100 000 words
Epic: above 100 000 words
And what about word count in specific genres? Again, numbers are approximate:
Thriller, action: ± 80 000 words
Romance: 40 000-100 000 words
Fantasy, science fiction: ± 100 000 and more words
Horror: 80-100 000 words
Non fiction: 70-110 000 words
I think it's smarter to divide your plot into smaller parts, and to set a minimum amount of words / time you want to spend on writing it. That way the word count can become motivational instead of stressing you out, and you'll have a clearer idea of where you are at!
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