Halloween used to be a very special and incredibly social holiday for me and Chris. When we lived in Orlando, we would go to Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party at Disney World. Then, in 2008, I had the Halloween Party that beat ALL Halloween parties and invited 200 Harry Potter fanatics on a Harry Potter themed cruise. We had Wizard Rock concerts, costume parties, a Horcrux Hunt, Dobby BINGO. It was amazing. And since then, I don’t remember really celebrating Halloween again with even a fraction of the enthusiasm. It just doesn’t compare.
This year was no different. I didn’t even dress up. Sure, I dressed up last week for the CrossFit Halloween event, but not for Halloween itself. The total amount of celebrating came through one last final EarthFit Bootcamp and then heading over to the Taproom for ciders and appetizers.
My focus is a little different this year. I hope it’s the beginning of something significant. While it was still October for one more day, I decided to get a head start on a huge event that takes place throughout all of November. No, not the elections, and Donald Trump contesting the results. I’m talking about National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo. It’s a month dedicated to authors, writers, and aspiring novelists to complete a 50,000 word novel in 30 days.
November is the perfect month to do this, actually. The weather is getting chilly, and here in the NorthWest, it’s rainy and damp and grey. Nothing sounds better than cozying up with a nice warm cuppa (tea, cocoa, cider, whatever floats your boat) and your laptop to hash out your story that is bursting to make its way to the world. However, I’m not particularly fond of writing from home. So, my cuppa may come from a local cafe, my hours long session of typing away may take place at the library or co-works.
I have a great writing partner, and we plan to keep each other motivated with a mild and friendly competition of who types more words each day. We plan to call each week to discuss areas we are stuck, or as my friend says “have brain weasels we need to exterminate”.
I have a writing journal, too. I’ve been reading a practicing some exercises from “Writer’s Workshop” and feel a write-in journal will help me the most. It’s different from a diary or a blog, but I will likely share some thoughts from the journal along the way.
So, I appear to be ready to go. Ready for a new month. I am hoping for more than just “Zookeeper’s Guide to Fitness” by the end of this month. I’m hoping for the habit of writing. With 7 days a week to explore and find spots to write, I am hoping to discover great nooks and hiding spots where I can get good writing done. I am hoping to discover what I need to accomplish my goal of writing each day. Do I need a particular genre of music? Or just background noise? Can writing from home work on occasion when the conditions are just right? What are the best writing snacks? What’s the best optimal time? Who are the best companions for writing? I hope to have a productive and adventurous month.
Happy NaNoWriMo!
Workouts
7 am New You Ladies
28 minute EMOM
Clean and jerks
Knee Raises
Row
V-ups
4 pm Halloween EarthFit
2 rounds of Spirit of Halloween Ciricuit
Spooky Step-ups
Pumpkin Push-ups
Witches’ Walk
Jumping Jack O’Lanterns
Shrieking Shuttle Sprints
Trick or Treat T-Twist Planks
EarthFit Memory
Dolphin Jumps
Spyhops
Sea star sit-ups
Crab toe touches
“Sea Horse’ kicks
Octopus Jacks
Angelfish swimmers
Shark Darts
No match= burpees
Breakfast- egg white casserole with vegan cheese
Lunch- leftover turkey meatballs
Dinner- Appetizers at Taproom
ZooFit Tip: It’s really easy to aim high and set lofty goals. I could easily aim for the recommended 1650-1700 words a day for NaNoWriMo. And the same could be said for weight-loss goals, or fitness goals in general. It’s so easy to SAY “I’m going to workout 7 days a week, 3 times a day, for at least 45 minutes a workout”. But actually accomplishing this feat, even if that is your ultimate ambition, is very difficult. If that is what you want your desired outcome to be- writing 2000 words a day, working out hard every day, eating paleo every day- fantastic. But I suggest starting small. I say this for a couple of reasons- 1) starting small and building from there is the basis of operant conditioning, and several animal trainers will agree that is the basis for successful training. You start at step one, even if you THINK you are ready for step 5, or 10. When you have success, you will have the confidence to grow from each step. It’s much more positive to grow from success than to downgrade from frustrations. It’s more motivating in the long run and creates lasting habits. Going gung-ho may get results, and they may get results faster, but chances of burning out are astronomically higher, and frustration and de-motivation sets in much quicker.
For me, in tackling a month dedicated to writing everyday, I have decided to start small myself. While I am hoping to get the entirety of my book out on “paper” by the end of the month, I am only shooting for 500 words a day for right now. If I do more, great, but my goal is only 500 words. In a week or so, I may increase my minimum to 800 or 1000 words a day. Hopefully by the end of the month, hitting 1500 words a day will be a piece of cake, or at least a habit for me.