Begun old novel in club (8)
I believe the answer is:
bludgeon
'club' is the definition.
(bludgeon is a kind of club)
'begun old novel' is the wordplay.
'novel' indicates an anagram.
'begun'+'old'='begunold'
'begunold' is an anagram of 'BLUDGEON'.
'in' is the link.
(Other definitions for bludgeon that I've seen before include "Club used as a weapon" , "Thick stick as weapon" , "Bully; heavy weapon" , "Short stick with thickened end as weapon" , "Club used maliciously" .)