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How to make a long book.
I'm writing a book. I'm not going to get too into the plot because I don't want anyone to steal my idea but it's just starting, and I'm on page 49 but I feel like it needs to be longer. It was on page 36 when I started, then I went back and added detail, minor characters, character relations and I got it here. I also added some more action scenes. It takes place in Europe (and it has to, due to the plot) and the characters have to travel around Europe. I thought traveling across a continent would make it a long book, but I didn't realize you could get around Europe that fast! I'm an American so I have to do a lot of googling, and you could get across countries within two hours it takes me 5 just to drive to New Jersey! How do I make the book longer?
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Depending on how well it fits with the overall plot of the story, you could throw in a few little side plots. Maybe a relationship between some secondary characters, or some secret internal conflict a main character has. You don't want to just make it mindless filler, but I personally find that kind of stuff interesting. It could give the reader a break from all the action going on. It's even better if the side plots tie into the main one somehow, so the reader won't feel like you've wasted their time.
Another thing I would suggest is to have a friend read the story, and ask them to write down any questions they have, or things they're confused about. You may have already done something like this, but taking a few paragraphs to explain unfamiliar concepts/ideas could add some extra pages.
Lastly, try to add more detail to existing scenes, and 'show, not tell' (don't know about everyone else, but that was a big thing at my school). Rather than rushing through action scenes and having one thing happen right after another, take the time to describe everything the happens. Readers LOVE imagery. You want them to be able to "see" what's happening in the story. Just be sure not to overdo it. It's not good to have a bunch of information dumps everywhere either. For example, if you have a character carrying a bottle of soda, you could casually mention how the soda is moving around inside the bottle as the character is moving. Little details like that make the setting seem more "real" to the reader, if you know what I mean.
Good luck with your book! I hope this helps somehow :-)
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