Nanowrimo: Great Writing Exercise

I've read recent posts about the stupidity of Nanowrimo and how all it does is encourage very bad writing. The writers seem to dismiss the exercise, and that's all that it is, as the idea that spawned terrible writing. As a Nanowrimo survivor, I can honestly say that it really helped me get past internal barriers and just get the story down on paper, or on the hard drive. I've got so many mostly-finished manuscripts, it's embarrassing. My hopes are that our move to Imperial Beach, CA, will spur my creative juices and resolve to get these projects finished, at last. Certainly, living a few miles off of the beach is really cool and gives me the feeling of a permanent vacation. We can actually go to the beach every single day. I still can't get over it. We've woven a mile-long walk into our daily lives already. I want to add pilates, playing the saxophone and writing. Let's see how that goes.