A short bit of clarification....

I promised you tips for pulling the weeds out of your work, but that's going to have to wait for tomorrow.

First, a brief note of clarification.

I know you are probably not trying to write a bad novel. I get that. I'm not trying to write a bad novel either.

I'm a realist, that's all. Our stuff will likely be bad. Oh, I could use weasel words, like amateur or starter, but I respect you too much to waste your time.

Loads of other people will tell you how to a novel. They'll suggest that you can get great results by just following the rules, or, at the very least, they'll hide from the truth that the odds are dead set against this result.

I consider my willingness to admit that our results will likely range from adequate to abysmal to be my distinguishing feature.

Any badness is just a result of the probabilities and our own frailties.

As for writing a good novel, I don't think any one can tell you how to do that. You have to figure that out for yourself.