Does anyone remember how a few months ago I boldly said that I was undertaking the final edits to my novel? Even as I wrote the words, I felt that I was jinxing my draft – by claiming that it was final I was calling out for many more revisions. But I brushed away my discomfort and told myself to not be superstitious. But of course I jinxed it. That draft was not the last at all, and now I am cocooned in a self imposed retreat, typing away on my miniature netbook, brought along for just this kind of eventuality.

When I last wrote about writing, I had hoped that along with you, my writerly friends, I would be able to start the first draft of my next novel – that we would undertake a literary adventure together, discuss our successes and failures as comrades and you would tell me about how you were getting along, writing in your chosen spot in San Francisco, while I shared how my netbook and I had figured out a routine, and how we were well into chapter 3 or 4.

Well, it’s not worked out like that. I am still a long way from putting my present novel to bed. But there is no reason why you should not not start without me. I promise to catch up soon.

I hope in the last few months, all of you, my writerly friends, have decided upon your writing place and also have considered putting aside a specific time to write. With these in place, let’s think about approaching the first draft.

Last issue we presented the Screenwriter’s Bag of Tricks (Part One), which provided a collection of useful techniques for writing scripts. This issue, we’ll offer up another collection just for the writer of novels.

As before, these tips are provided in no particular order, are intentionally kept short and to the point, and cover a wide range of topics, from inspiration to development to business concerns.

Some are geared to the beginning novelist, others to the expert. But regardless of your experience level, you’re likely to find a few keepers.

Novels Aren’t Stories

A novel can be extremely free form. Some are simply narratives about a fictional experience. Others are a collection of several stories that may or may not be intertwined.

Producing a second novel, like producing a second album, is a very different challenge to producing the first. After years of writing to your own specifications, in your own time frame, and with your main anxiety being whether your work will ever be published, now you have the new challenges of an expectant readership who demands that your second effort is at least as good, if not better than the first.

For many writers this pressure is enough to make them crumble, which is why second novels often arrive on book shop shelves much, much later than hoped for, if at all.

As an aspiring author you may imagine that being paid to write, makes the whole thing a lot less stressful. But if you believe what successful published writers say, that is definitely not the case.

You no longer have an excuse to put off writing that novel that’s been knocking around in the back of your head. No more “Oh, I work, I can’t find the time.” Or, “Oh, the kids — I’m too busy.” Or whatever excuse hipsters use. One Labor Day weekend is all you need.

That’s the premise of the 3-Day Novel Contest. For 31 years, the Vancouver-based challenge has provided an outlet for any writer, would-be or otherwise, to pound the keys and get it done. Entrants have from 12:01 a.m. Saturday until 11:59 p.m. Monday to start and finish their magnum opus. Bonus: The contest winner works with an editor and gets the novel published by 3-Day Books, which organizes the contest.

Ever wondered about tips for writing a novel? You’re not alone. Judging from the proliferation of writers’ magazines and web sites, completing a novel that sells to a publisher is a dream that many of us hold.

In this article, we’ll cover three tips for writing a novel that I’ve found useful over the course of my 10+ year career as a professional wordsmith. I don’t claim that this is an official list; it’s just what has worked for me.

November is National Novel Writing Month, and a contest is held to see who can finish a 50,000 word novel in a month. Some people are scared off from trying this fun challenge by the scope of how large a 50,000 word novel must be.

The key to writing a novel is actually just a few simple steps.

1. The Idea: It doesn’t have to be mind-blowingly unique. It can even be a twist on another book or movie. It does, however, have to be different enough from an other work that your not guilty of plagiarizing.