Writers, start your engines, because Anvil Press is pleased to once again be administering the International 3-Day Novel contest!
The world’s most notorious literary marathon will take place once again this Labour Day weekend, September 5 – 7. The entries are judged by a panel, which announces its winning selection early in the following year. The winning novel is then published by Anvil Press.
Interested in how one might prep for a writing contest that’s both a marathon and a sprint? We asked the Anvil author experts for some of their favourite writing tips and advice.
See your writing as a partnership between yourself and your unconscious.
Take the attitude that your unconscious is always trying to reveal a mystery to you and let the unconscious have its say, no matter how nonsensical its contribution might initially seem. Try to let go of the reins of control of the work, and give yourself time to reflect on the direction the piece is taking. It might want to go somewhere you hadn’t intended, a place that will surprise you and your readers. Follow that scent like a bloodhound. —Madeline Sonik, author of Fontainebleau
Fold the Feels into Your Writing!
Feelings come and go innumerably in shapes, sizes, speeds, densities, and depths. It seems to me that there’s an exceptionally rich creative dimension to putting them into words. On the topic of feelings, here’s some advice from Lydia Davis’s essay “Thirty Recommendations for Good Writing Habits,” which also brings in the work of Peter Handke:
Observe your own feelings (but not at tiresome length):
From Peter Handke’s notebook:
a. “At the sight of a woman with enormously protuberant eyes, my irritation vanished.”
From my notebook:
b. The feeling of love, it seems, is my response to Peter Bichsel’s stories—they are loving stories. They awaken in me a feeling (love) that I am then quicker to feel in response to other things.
—Kevin Spenst, author of Hearts Amok
Write in manageable chunks
I’ve never been one for sticking post-it notes everywhere or laying out bits of paper on the floor, which would make writing a novel seem more overwhelming I think. Instead, I like to take each chapter and think of it as a short story in its own right. Block out the rest of the book for now. Give that chapter a beginning, middle and end, and ask yourself why it’s there and how it’s moving the story forward. When it’s done, put it aside and go on to the next chapter. Don’t go back, whatever you do. Only go forwards, as if you’re on a moving walkway in an airport and you can’t get off until you get to the departure lounge. When your draft it done, put it in a different format to the one you wrote it in. Sometimes I transfer it to my Kobo or I print out the manuscript two pages to a sheet. It’s amazing how it makes you read it ‘fresh.’ If all else fails, have a Bacardi and Coke and stare out the window. —Jackie Bateman, author of Straight Circles
Absorb ideas broadly
Read outside your genre and read as much and as widely as possible across eras, languages, disciplines. Possibilities that come from unlikely places, whether they are ideas for fresh word combinations or about something more technical, like narrative positioning, can be a zing of lemon in your work. —Elee Kraljii Gardiner, author of Trauma Head, editor of Against Death: 35 Essays on Living, and new director of Vancouver Manuscript Intensive
Take time away from your work
Give yourself some breaks and try to get outside. Nighttime, looking up at the stars is good for your eyes after all that computer glow. And who knows, if you’re lucky, you might even spot a shooting star to make a wish on. —Heidi Greco, author of the forthcoming Glorious Birds
Personalize your work ethic
Just do the damn thing however you need to. Set yourself a treat every few hours. Stop and go for a run. Play an instrument. Go write on the patio or in the yard for a while. Do a handstand. If you get stuck, switch to a different chapter and come back later. Drink all the coffee. Have a designated work area. Don’t let your friends talk you into a drink while you’re working—have five when you’re done. Just do the damn thing. Put your fingers on those keys. Write down everything, no matter how dumb it is. You can be smart later. Right now, you need to be in the sweet spot called “closer to done.” Pat or walk a dog and drink in the endorphins. Remember why you started. Take a quick break to read something awesome. Try and write something awesomer. Do the damn thing. —Jesse Donaldson, author of Land of Destiny: A History of Vancouver Real Estate and the forthcoming Fools Gold: The Life and Legacy of Vancouver’s Official Town Fool
Three-days model
Day One (Beginning); Day Two (Middle); Day Three (End)—not necessarily in that order, but know where you want to be by the end of each day and get there. Push through. Don’t stop, don’t look back. Collapse at end of day. Sleep, wake, repeat. —Brian Kaufman, Anvil Press’s publisher
For additional tips, advice, and warnings visit our official Survival Guide!
A short history of the contest
The contest began in a Vancouver bar in 1977, where a handful of writers sat around bragging about their literary prowess. Amongst the bar-talk was the rumour that Voltaire had written Candide in only three days. The tough-talk eventually led to a challenge: go home and write a novel in 72 hours. The first winning entry was published by the original Pulp Press, who continued to administer the contest for the next 15 years, as well as publishing the winners. The 3-Day baton was passed to Anvil Press in 1992 and Anvil continued the “trial by fire” for the next decade. 3-Day fatigue set in and two freelance editors associated with Geist magazine stepped up to tend the flame. Efforts continued for the next eight years, mostly under the guidance of Melissa Edwards and 3-Day Books. The contest then took up full residence at Geist magazine with Anvil again stepping in to publish the winning entry. After several years of freelance administration, the contest has returned in-house to Anvil Press, commencing with the 2020 contest.
For further information on the contest, or to register, visit: https://www.3daynovel.com/