Write A Novel In 3 Days

By Mary Ann Tippett

Starting to write a novel is hard. Finishing one? Even harder. With this guide you can check write a novel off your list. A feat you can accomplish in three days.

Unlike novels written over longer periods of time, writing in the Zone

• Language: English
• Publisher: MAT Books
• Release date: Aug 17, 2021
• ISBN: 9781775388395

Mary Ann Tippett

MARY ANN TIPPETT is a writer living in Ottawa. She has a Doctor of Jurisprudence degree from Indiana University. Other published novels include Clara & Pig and Pairs With Pinot. For more information, visit her blog at www.maryanntippett.ca

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Write A Book In 3 Days

The Zone Method

Mary Ann Tippett

MAT Books

Copyright © 2021 by Mary Ann Tippett

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

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For every writer with a novel inside

Contents

1. First, A Word

2. Zone In And Tune Out

3. The Seed of an Idea

4. Nourishing the Idea

5. Deep Focus

6. Outline Less

7. Genres Conducive to Three-Day Novel Writing

8. How to Structure A Three-Day Novel

9. The Half-Book Outline

10. Nail The Necessities

11. Fast-Writing Fuel

12. Sleep & Word-Count Goals

13. Event Particulars

14. Know When, Where & Why

15. Support

16. Anticipate Challenges

17. End It Productively

18. How to Stick the Landing

19. Editing the Three-Day Novel

Afterword

20. Appendix A

21. Appendix B

22. Appendix C

Note From Author

Recommended Reading

Notes

Acknowledgments

About the Author

Also by Mary Ann Tippett

1

First, A Word

It has been three years since my last unfinished novel. As a former perfectionist with a list of excuses, I consider myself a member of Writing Perfectionists Anonymous. ¹ Thanks to a three-day writing contest, I learned to let go of my perfectionist, story-slaying mindset and finish seven novels.

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You may not be a perfectionist like me, but I would wager you have a story to tell. You have talent. You want to finish a novel. And you don’t know how to get started, how to stay motivated, or what to do about that abandoned novel baby you want to finish.

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You likely identify with one or more of these scenarios:

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You have a great idea for a novel and are looking for the best way to write it.

Every time you start writing a novel, you end up quitting.

You are writing a novel but now you are stuck.

You have a novel in your files / box-in-the-closet / fill-in-the-blank-place-where-novels-go-to-die.

Whenever you get into a project, you lose interest or end up chasing a new, more exciting idea.

You wrote a chapter and now you need tips on how to write the rest of your book.

You have a killer outline all fleshed out, but no motivation to write the actual story.

You know how your story idea begins and ends, but you’re currently procrastinating on the middle part.

You read Stephen King’s On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft / Anne Lamott’s Bird by Bird / fill-in-the-blank-book-on-novel-writing and can’t wait to put what you learned into action.

You attended courses on the basics, such as outlining, character building, scene building, and the three-act structure, but when you start writing you feel like you do not know anything.

You just do not have the time right now to commit to writing a novel.

You do not have the credentials of a real writer but writing a novel is a goal.

You read a lot of books you could have written better. Getting started is the hard part.

You are afraid of spending years finishing a novel that goes nowhere.

You fight with your inner critic every time you sit down to write.

You have some partial novels to finish someday but are too excited about a new idea to deal with them now.

You are curious about the three-day novel process and whether it is for you.

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If any of these statements resonate, you are in good company. I have suffered from all of the above: writers block, imposter syndrome, perfectionism, fear I don’t really know enough yet, procrastination, time constraints, and the look-something-shiny-and-new-to-do-instead complex. ²

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But guess what? We do not need courage, years, craft books, or fancy degrees to produce our best novel. A stirring idea, a way to channel your muse, and three days will get you to the finish line.

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This guide demonstrates how to write in the Zone, how to outrun your inner critic, and how to outline with the less-is-more approach. It provides a proven list of the three-day novel-writing necessities, and it shows you how to stick the landing—bringing your story idea to