NaNoWriMo is only two weeks away. If you’re a planner, you’ve probably been hard at work on character sketches and your outline. If you’re more of a pantser, your methods are a bit more of a mystery to me, but I’m sure you’ve been busy preparing as well.

I’m going to keep preparing The Dreams for a huge influx of new words over the next two weeks but during these final weeks my focus shifts to preparing to take care of myself while being incredibly busy.

NaNoWriMo takes place during a busy time of year and adding writing a novel to the equation can throw even an experienced WriMo’s life off balance. Over the last twelve years, I’ve learned that I need to make a plan to make life livable while dedicating more hours each day to writing during November.

Today I thought I’d share some of the ways I prepare during the second half of October to survive NaNoWriMo.

Buy Snacks

Halloween candy goes on sale November 1, but it’s not wise to rely on discount candy to get you through a whole month of writing (not to mention the good candy rarely stays on the shelves past Halloween). Healthy snacks are probably even more important than cheap, fun-sized sweets and I can buy them ahead of time without worrying that I’m missing out on a deal later.

Plan Meals

Making and freezing meals ahead of time is usually recommended for NaNoWriMo. I’d love to do this, but I have very limited freezer space. Instead, I stock up on supplies for crockpot meals and semi-homemade food that I can prepare in 15 minutes or less. I also try to squirrel away some extra money for pizza days when I’m too overwhelmed to bother.

Clean

I’m lucky enough not to host Thanksgiving so if my apartment gets a little grubby during November I don’t have to worry about guests noticing it. I try to get everything tidied up at the end of October so it won’t get too bad if I decide to cut corners in November.

Get Plenty of Rest/Eat Healthy

Getting sick at the start of November is almost certain to derail plans for a NaNoWriMo win. It’s impossible to guarantee I won’t catch a cold around November 1, but I can do my best to keep my immune system in decent shape before the chaos begins. I try not to push myself too hard in the second half of October so I’m well rested for at least a couple days at the start of November.

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Do you do anything to prepare for NaNoWriMo outside of planning your novel? I’d love to know so I can add it to my own preparation plans.