The point of any kind of forced creativity experience or challenge is to simply do the creative thing you want to be doing but perhaps wouldn’t be doing otherwise. I am all for it. I’ve done more than a decade worth of a poem every day in April, I’ve participated in songwriting challenges that resulted in nearly 600 musical pieces, and I’ve done two years of NaNoWriMo and written 50,000 words in thirty days. This year feels different. For one, I don’t think I have anything to prove. I’ve met the word count goal two years in a row. So I think I have decided that my participation this year will be kinder and gentler. The election is in three days. It may end badly. That alone makes me feel less excited about cranking out a crappy 50,000 word draft. I would rather work on something less ambitious, but more studied and careful, perhaps “better” in that it won’t feel like a race. I have decided to work on a collection of flash fiction pieces, all inspired by titles gifted to me from a writer friend. I have decided not to concern myself with a through-narrative, not to worry about plot, to write pieces that may stand on their own, while not dismissing the possibility that they may be linked in some way. My goal is, not 50,000 words in a month, but to simply write every day in service of this project. I might do 2,000 words on a single day, or I might write 500. No matter. The point is that I am writing. I am generating material. I am doing that thing I want to be doing with the backdrop of NaNoWriMo as an inspirational nudge.
So far, with a little bit of a head start moving into November, I have written 7 pieces of flash fiction, totaling a little more than 3,000 words. I feel good about it. I’m going to enjoy myself and remove entirely the stress of being productive in a particular way. I’ll count the words for shits and giggles, but I promise myself not to get worked up about it. Moving forward is the goal. A draft of a new book, even a short one, will be my intended outcome.
michael jarmer 
I’ve never done NaNoWriMo as I’m reluctant to delegate my writing to specific months. My goal has always been to simply write, however number of words come out, every day all year–less than 2,000, more, whatever. And there are days/even weeks where I don’t or can’t write for numerous reasons, which is ok, and then I return.
I admire folks who do NaNoWriMo and can use it to kick-start projects, but for me, I’d rather write all year.
Thank you for your post as it affirms that.