Don’t waste a year writing a bad novel. Do this instead.

You can spend an entire year on a novel that turns out to be really bad.

Ray Bradbury offered some alternative advice for the beginner or intermediate writer:

Write 52 short stories instead of one novel. Write one short story a week for a year.

“I defy you,” he said, “to write 52 bad ones. It is not possible.”

At the end of the week, you will feel good. You will have actually accomplished something.

When you are writing a novel, you may not feel as good at the end of the week because you will...