The best way

The Best Way not to write a novel is not to write at all. There are so many exciting ways to accomplish this! Go shopping, read email, watch TV, talk on the phone, or even just stay in bed!

If all of those are too commonplace for you, then consider another alternative - editing! It's looks sort of like writing - you're sitting at keyboard, and your fingers are moving - but if you do it right, your storytelling progress is completely stopped! The key is not to just fix things and move on. No, no, no! To do it right, first get your mind right - seek perfection! Seize upon every defect, and use it as an oppotunity to re-examine all of your work so far: your characters, your setting, your point-of-view - everything! Don't stop until you are thinking about both the very largest possible picture, and the very smallest possible detail at the same time. I find Overall Concept and Word Choice to be my favorites.

Done correctly, this is a very rewarding process. The appeal of Failure is highly underrated, in my opinion. It offers so many benefits: self-pity, ennui, and the enormous comfort of At Least I Tried.

For maximum results, try Tantric failure: come as close to possible to giving up, then back off at the last possible moment. Each time you managed to complete this sequence without actually quiting will only deepen the satisfaction when you finally do Fail.

Of course, if you find that you can't hold back, and simply give up the first time, please don't blame yourself, or feel too bad. At Least You Tried.