“You have no power over me.” – Labyrinth, 1986 Monday, 17 November 9am: Child at school, with play date afterwards. I have until 5.30pm to push up my NaNoWriMo total. Today is the day. A jug of iced tea is in the fridge, I have no commitments, no excuses. Limit time to check email, social media, and undertake research before writing to one hour. Set timer on phone accordingly. 10am: Turn off desktop, turn on laptop, which is set up in bedroom. Make coffee. Current words: 7214

My NaNoWriMo is not off to a good start. Unlike 2013, this year I felt I was organised before 1 November. I had characters. I had a plan. I had been reading non-fiction books to fill out areas of information where I was lacking. Then the trouble began. My son, the self-proclaimed Mini-King, proclaimed Friday night as The Night of Sleeping Dangerously. He woke hourly, calling us into his room, yelling at us for being in him room, then screaming that we weren’t listening to h