Guess what guess what? I actually wrote something today! It was only 251 words, but it's something...
~Amber~
~Amber~
I envy people who can wake up in the middle of the night, decide to do something, and actually stay up and do it before going back to bed.
Whenever I wake up in the middle of the night, all I can think about is going back to sleep...
What is it about? Maybe we could help decide on novella or novel length.
It's an Urban Fantasy. A witch has to help break the spell on this guy she's in love with and that guy's girlfriend. So, I've gotten to the part where the spells are broken. The guy and his girlfriend are werewolves by the way. Anyway, the spells are broken, and the woman finds out that it was actually an old childhood friend seeking revenge against her that did it. She was actually hoping to kill the guy and girl, at least the guy anyway because she knew she meant something to the protagonist. So, now, she finds out who's cast the spell, but doesn't know where the old friend is or anything else other than she's after her still. She has to deal with all of that plus trying to get rid of her feelings for the werewolf guy, and her feelings for this warlock/male witch character I have. She already knows that realistically she won't end up with werewolf guy, but she still has feelings for him. That's one of the reasons she's skeptical of her feelings for the warlock guy, who is also an old friend of hers.
I'm pretty sure that I some errors in the WIP relating to logic and how/when people met and/or stopped talking to one another. So, I know I'll have to fix that, but I wanted to finish it first. That way I'll know most, if not all, of what I want to do. I say that because this did start off similar, but my idea slowly morphed from what was originally in my head. So, I want to see how much more it changes from what I'm envisioning now.
I'd say it needs a little extra to fill it out to novel-length.
I could be wrong, depending on your writing style and how long things take to happen... But if I were to pick up a novel, I'd expect a longer end-goal than what you've described. I'm only one reader, of course, but there's have to be more going on the whole way through than just trying to complete one goal... I think.
That's not to say that you haven't thought of more stuff that could happen, or that I'm right, or that you couldn't start to think of ways to expand it.
Intrigue, obstacles and tension are what need to really come through in general. If you write it with such in mind (complementing or contrasting whatever artistic intent you have) then I think you could just write it and see how long it turns out.
One thing I've been warned of by published writers is that you shouldn't set yourself a word count and just add fluff to make your story that length. Write what's true to the story. Again, that doesn't mean you can't expand on things, and the story isn't set in stone until it's published, but if you write only what needs to be written, then whatever word count it comes in at, there's a greater chance of capturing an audience.
At least, that's the theory. I'm unpublished as yet, so take what I say with a grain of salt. (But yes, I do have a hunch that your story would be novella-ish.)
/long post