There are a few musts......

Not many. But there are a few things you absolutely must do to write a bad novel.

1. You must write.

Obvious, no? But so easy to get wrong. The novel can't happen in your head. It happens on paper. Aside from the need to (eventually) show it to readers, or submit it to publishers, there's a good reason for this. I don't care what your IQ is, or how amazing your memory may be, you can't keep a whole novel in your head. No way.

Writers write. If you're not putting a pen to paper at predictable (and preferably daily) intervals, you're not a writer.

Its ok not to write much. Its ok if its bad.

Just write.

2. You must write stories.

Not outlines. Not character sketches. Not snatches of dialogue. Not scenes. Don't get me wrong, these things are all fine, if they're useful. They are the lumber with which stories have been built. They are not stories, though.

What's a story? A story is a narrative in which something or someone the reader is curious about is revealed. That's it. Whatever you have on paper, if you can't squeeze it into that model, its not a story.

This is long enough, already. More musts tomorrow......