Sprint

“Don't look behind you. NaNoWriMo is a sprint-- a SPRINT, I tell you. It is full throttle, as many words as you can muster, every single day. You don't get to stop for water-- you have to throw water into your mouth as you run, and if you end up splashing yourself in the ear, SO BE IT.

So I think the sprint-race advice of, don't look back to see how close your opponent is, it will slow you down and you might lose, is applicable here. Except this time, your opponent is not another person, it's your own draft, chasing you with its sloppiness.”—Veronica Ruth

The hardest thing to doing NaNoWriMo is to commit to writing every single day. The second hardest thing is not editing. I think editing is sometimes a coping mechanism. If I try to write and feel blocked or uninspired, instead of forcing myself to write less than great stuff, I edit what I’ve previously written, somehow convincing myself that it is a virtuous chore that exonerates me from producing new words.

Besides producing the rough draft of a novel, NaNo helps us learn the self discipline necessary to complete a novel and not get mired in eternal edits in an attempt for perfection.

"Perseverance is not a long race; it is many short races one after another." –Walter Elliott