Basically I'm pretty much an amateur at writing seriously. I've been trying to find out what makes a good novel- technique and style and all the rest- but something I came across made me really stop. It was on a different website (writersworkshop.co.uk) and it was about how long a novel should be. The author of the article, who was herself a published fantasy author, suggested at least 90,000 to 20,000 words. In a different article, another published author spoke about the "one-third slump"- getting to 30,000 words and losing inspiration.
Actually, I've got a number of questions, and they are (sorry):
1- How many words do you think should be in a single chapter, approximately;
2- How many chapters do you think there should be in a novel, minimum;
3- How many words in a novel, also minimum;
4- How do you not run out of creativity/inspiration/ideas/energy/sanity?
Thanks :)
The average novel is about 70,000 words.
However, the Great Gatsby by F Scott-Fitzgerald is under 50,000 words. Similarly, the Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys is only 192 pages. But epic fantasy novels can vary from 85,000 - 120,000 words.
There is no pre-requisite number of chapters per novel, or a number of words per chapter. In contemporary novels, a chapter can be from half a page to twelve pages in length.
To keep the creative juices flowing, I suggest you read as much as you can about your genre as possible.
I hope that helps.
Good luck.