I’m short on my word count, is that okay?
The “minimum” word count is 1,500 words. There is no upper limit. On the previous events, chapters have ranged anywhere from the minimum up to about 5,000 words. If it comes to it, though, I’d rather receive a 1,000 word response than no response at all.
Please remember that quality and not volume is our goal; this isn’t NaNoWriMo. What’s more important than the quantity of words written is that you produce something you are proud of. 1,500 well written and edited words that invoke genuine emotion are far better than 10,000 ones that a reader would skim over. This said, the chapter information you have been given is just the minimum amount of information you must convey. Add as much extra sub-plot and colour as you like, as long as it falls within the stated start and end point for your chapter.