In 2020, I started writing a story that had been quietly glowing inside me for several years, and I gave myself 30 days to write it. That story became the first edition of The Christmas Witch.
I loved so much about that month. I loved its rhythm, its structure, the feeling of showing up to the page each day like I was keeping a promise to my own imagination. But I also remember the pressure of the word count. Some days the number felt magickal, like a lantern lighting the way. Other days it was like an iron door I couldn't quite push open, no matter how hard I leaned.
So this November, I want to offer you something a little softer. Something that honors the way our brains and bodies actually work.
Welcome to NeuroWriMo.
Why NeuroWriMo?
Here is the first and most important thing: you can do NeuroWriMo whenever you want.
It doesn't have to be November. You don't have to start on the first of the month. If you stumble across this post on the 17th, or in March, or on a random Tuesday when inspiration finally knocks, that is your day one.
Neurodivergent and sensitive creatives deserve permission to build structures that fit our brains and nervous systems, rather than contorting ourselves into shapes never made for us. NeuroWriMo is that permission, wrapped up inside a fluffy blanket and handed to you with a hot cup of tea.
Creation Counts (All of It)
Writing is words on paper. That's true. But creation happens in so many places beyond the page.
Vision boards count. Character profiles count. Pinterest boards, playlists, and the scene you dreamed up while washing dishes all count. Every one of these is a way of pulling your story out of the misty place in your mind and giving it shape in the world.
And here's the truth I've learned: sometimes the sparkle of whimsy pulls us away from the work, and sometimes it is absolutely the answer. A playlist may unlock a chapter. It can also become three hours of curating the perfect track order while your manuscript waits patiently in another tab.
Only you can know which one is happening. Part of NeuroWriMo is learning to set loving boundaries with yourself, so the dreaming feeds the writing instead of replacing it.
If It's Day Six and You Haven't Written a Word
First, take a breath. You haven't failed. You're still here, and that matters.
Now, let's make it easier to begin.
Go for a walk and let your story walk beside you. Record a voice note the moment an idea about your character floats up. Make a brain dump list of the feelings you want your reader to carry with them when they close your book.
And if a daily word count feels intimidating, write one sentence. Just one. Once that one sentence feels natural, once it lives in your body as a habit, stretch it to a handful of sentences. Then a paragraph. Then a page.
The goal is to make consistency easy, while still inviting yourself to grow a little along the way.
Hyperfocus Days, Empty Days, and Letting Go of Shame
Opting into a writing challenge doesn't mean life stops lifing.
There will be days when you're sick, or in pain, or on your period, or simply not in the mood to do anything at all. There will also be days when all you want to do is write, and the laundry piles up, and dinner becomes cereal, and the story pours out of you like sunshine through an open window.
Both of these are part of the rhythm. Neither one makes you a better or worse writer.
Your 100% will look different every single day. That can be hard to truly believe at first, but it is essential. If you show up and give what you have that day, there is no shame in that. None.
Didn't hit your word count, but you wrote something? Don’t berate, Celebrate.
My Personal Writing Toolkit
People often ask how I hold a creative life alongside a family life and all the other threads I'm weaving. The honest answer is that I've built systems that feel like play, because that's what my brain responds to.
I shared more about how I balance it all (kind of) in Juggling the Impossible: How I Balance Creativity with Family Life (Kind Of).
If you've ever wished your to-do list felt more like an adventure than a chore chart, Roll for YOU is the fantasy self-care system I created for exactly that. It turns caring for yourself into a quest, which makes it so much easier to keep your creative well full during a month like this one.
What I Wish I'd Known When I Started
When I first wrote my way into Amberlight Valley, I had no idea who would find it.
I didn't know that girls and women of every generation would fall in love with these characters. I didn't know readers would come up to my table at signings and festivals and tell me the books helped them see their own magick again, or nudged them back toward the creative spark they thought they'd lost.
I'm telling you this because the story inside you might be carrying that same kind of medicine for someone. You won't know until you let it out into the world.
What a Win Looks Like on Day Thirty
It might not be 50,000 words. That's okay.
Progress is progress. Stories need preparation and shaping, and depending on how you write, that might mean a lot of outlining, worldbuilding, and getting to know your characters before the drafting truly takes off.
Think of NeuroWriMo as an ongoing flow state, where you cycle through the different parts of your story as your energy calls you: worldbuilding one day, character work the next, a scene that finally arrives the day after that.
Any progress you've made in moving your idea from inside your mind into something you can hold, read, or share is a win. A real one.
Your Invitation
If you're ready to begin (whenever your day one happens to be), I'd love to walk next to you.
The Author Toolkit is where I've gathered the tools and guidance I wish I'd had when I started, to help you take your story from an idea to a finished manuscript. And it’s completely free. So there’s that too.
Wherever you are in your process, your story is worth showing up for. And so are you.
Happy writing, dreamer. ✨
Dalea Faulkner is an author, filmmaker, and multi-hyphenate creative living in the White Mountains of Arizona. Hashtag Blessed is streaming on multiple platforms, and the full Amberlight Valley trilogy is available now.
🕯️ Wander into Amberlight and beyond—sign up for updates, secrets, and the occasional enchanted surprise.
