To say I’m not ready for NaNoWriMo would be an understatement. My life has been taken over by our new theatre company since June and I’ve barely had time to think about writing much less write. But I have won NaNoWriMo the past four years and this would be the fifth, so I’m gonna push for it.

50,000 words in one month is 1,667 words a day. When I’m in the groove, I can knock that out in less than two hours. On a really good day, an hour. I can find that time. I must just have to give up a bit of my sanity to do so, but I can find that time.

I have a story that I started plotting and brainstorming back in the Spring, which I have shared about here and there, although I’ve had so much space from it that I expect it will evolve drastically over the course of the month. I try to really follow what I personally want to explore in a story that has certainly changed after this summer, but I think this story still provides the world and platform to explore new ideas. So I have a story.

I expect that my biggest struggle for NaNoWriMo 2018 will be getting into that head space, the writing head space. I am so much in event planning, managing a budget, trying to knock-out dozens of renderings, that it’s difficult to do a hard switch to writing. That’s a muscle that I have let go flabby and will need to build up again. That’s my struggle and I’m bracing myself for it.

While I want to start building that muscle even before NaNoWriMo hits – which is something I usually do: start writing before start, but start counting Nov. 1 – but I haven’t pushed myself to find the time yet. Instead, I am simply trying to train my mind to get into that head space, that daydreaming place that I have not seen for a while. Listening to the story playlist, thinking about the events and characters, reviewing what I had brainstormed previously, etc..

As I’ve mentioned before, my husband is also a huge supporter in the month of November, so we have been working together to get the house cleaned and writing spaces set up and ready to be used. Plus, I am aiming to get as much of the “creative” work done by the end of October so that in November, I have more administrative and “manual” work to do and my creative side can be fully invested in writing.

Five years a winner. I’ve got my NaNoWriMo mug. I’ve got my tracking chart ready in my planner. This year will likely look different than any year before, but I refuse to accept defeat simply because life is different.

1,667 words a day. 50,000 words in November. Five years a winner.

I can do it and so can you.

What do you think your biggest struggle will be next month for NaNoWriMo? What are you doing to prepare?