Ah, that I'm not sure. I typically am able to retain the ability to think, even if only a very, very little bit. Typically that little bit of thinking will turn into a RC or a sudden realization and make me lucid, and then I've got all my thinking power.

My best advice to you would be using two techniques that I feel work great together--ADA and autosuggestion. KingYoshi has a great tutorial on ADA, which can be found here. As for autosuggestion, it works best for me while I meditate. When I meditate, I will focus on one object and block out all thoughts, and sometimes towards the end I'll say in my head, "I will have a lucid dream soon" or something similar. It's not exactly a hypnotic state, but I think it might be close enough for the suggestion to work. However, there might be other methods of autosuggestion that would work better for you. (Though, if you do decide to use my method, I will caution against using two absolute words, such as "I will have a lucid dream tonight", as if you don't you may become discouraged and it will lose its effect. Always pair an absolute word with a vague one, such as "may" and "tonight" or "will" and "soon". I've found these to have the highest success rates, as I'll almost always have a LD within 4 days of the autosuggestion. Again though, this is me personally, you'll have to find what works best for you.)

ADA should help the increased awareness and RCs bleed into your dreams, causing your dream self to be more aware and hopefully perform RCs, which will then let you become lucid.

Another thing of advice is not to try too hard. Just be patient, and in time, you will be able to have your first lucid dream.
(Also, sorry if I didn't properly split up the different parts, I was sort of just typing in a stream of consciousness sorta thing, whatever popped into my mind I typed out. )