I hate to break it to you, but Halloween is not the scariest time of year. NaNoWriMo is.

The purpose of NaNoWriMo is to write a 50,000-word novel during the month of November, which breaks down to 1,667 words per day. November is a difficult month without the added challenge of becoming a budding novelist.

• Students have the work they procrastinated on all semester. (Don't pretend this hasn't happened.)
• Americans have Thanksgiving, which often involves traveling, eating, and socializing.
• Then there's Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday.
• You'll probably catch the flu. At the very least, you'll have the sniffles.

Sure, you can participate in Camp NaNoWriMo in April and July, but it's just not the same. (In Camp NaNoWriMo, writers set their word count goals. The horror!)

Last week, I discussed my crash course in preparing for NaNoWriMo. This week, I'm showing you the items that will make my life much easier this month.

1. Laptop.

I admire the idea of writing a novel by hand, but I'd quit before hitting 5,000 words. I need my laptop. I'll be writing in Google Docs for the portability factor.

2. Pens and paper.

I won't be writing my entire novel by hand, but it is how I plan best. I'll carry a notepad and pen with me and scribble down ideas throughout the day. I'm guessing I'll also be making plenty of to-do lists in November.

3. Coffee.

This will help me write efficiently in the mornings. My husband and I stocked up on coffee. Will it last?

Probably not.

4. Sweet snacks.

I stocked up on Kind bars, but I'm sure I'll need to buy more throughout the month. (Mainly because I don't have any Dark Chocolate Almond Mint bars, and that's just unfortunate.)

5. Salty snacks.

I plan to stick to popcorn and dry roasted edamame, but I may sneak in some salt and vinegar chips on occasion.

6. Books.

I want to use my writing breaks efficiently. I'll be reading fiction and non-fiction. Whee!

7. Timer.

I don't own a physical timer, so I'll need to use my laptop, iPad, or phone to time my writing sprints. Writing sprints will help me push forward and waste less time. I'll start out with three 30-minute writing sprints per day and adjust as needed.

8. Simple meal plan.

Overnight oats for breakfast? Check.

Salad or sandwich for lunch? Check.

Dinner...? Yikes.

Sometimes, it's easy to pop in a frozen pizza and call it dinner. There are two problems with that. One, frozen pizza is disgusting. Two, frozen pizza is not healthy. Healthy food, healthy mind.

Instead of waiting until the latest possible moment, I'm going to collaborate with my husband and plan as many meals as possible. This part is in the early stages, but we've already planned our dinner for November 1. Progress!

9. Exercise playlist.

Lately, I haven't exercised as often as my body craves. I could blame the wonky Indiana weather, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and slow Internet, but I'm just lazy.

I recommended FitnessBlender in my last NaNoWriMo article, but I also recommend Yoga With Adriene. I want to mix things up and stay motivated as the weather gets cold.

10. Music.

Study music and Taylor Swift. Boom.

(I don't even need to create a new playlist!)

11. Dictionary and thesaurus.

I need to be able to word.

Do you have a survival kit for NaNoWriMo? Do you have them nice and organized in a box? (Er, I don't. If my productivity slips, that will change.)