Why yes, I did technically win Camp Nano this year. But the novel is not quite done.
I do have a few scenes left to write, so the forward motion continues. However, the breakneck speed to reach 50k is going to taper off.
There are obvious pros and cons to participating in NaNoWriMo, and as someone who has done this multiple times a year for many years now, I feel comfortable admitting them.
#1 – Pro – Nano offers a great deal of encouragement to writers. They are an undeniable cheerleader that helps keep you focused and moving forward.
#2 – Con – Writing for the sake of getting words on the page is not the same as writing to tell a good story. It does require massive editing after the book is done. (At least for me it does.)
#3 – Pro – Even if you miss the deadline and you don’t make those 50k words, you showed up to the screen/notebook/typewriter and that is ALWAYS a win.
#4 – Pro/Con – Most books are more than 50k words and therefore most books require writing beyond the given 30 days. However, given that the lovely people at the National Novel Writing Month’s headquarters grant multiple “camps” like this one in addition to the normal November WriMo, you have multiple opportunities to get it done.
I listed this last one as both a Pro and a Con because it can be extremely difficult to find the drive to finish a novel if you have put it away for a couple months while waiting for the next WriMo. I do recommend finishing the work to completion, then using the next WriMo for a full rewrite/edit if you need to.
I’m sure there are more I could list, but those are the mains and you can see that the pro’s definitely outweigh the con’s in here. I have enjoyed using Writing Months since the first year I found them (2007 or 2008, I’m not sure) and I will continue to use them as long as I have tales to tell.
For now, however, I have a book to get back to.
AJMaguire 
Great observations! Though I think writing for words does have its benefits too. For one, when you don’t have time to entertain the inner critic, you tend to get the story out faster. And we all know that editing SOMETHING is better than a blank page.
Anyway, great stuff on winning! Wishing you a great time for the rest of the project.
Yes, I agree having something to edit is better than nothing. I just notice the breakneck speed often has me lose focus on the deeper picture and the editing process requires more time. And I have this really awful habit of forgetting to write a note when I see something that should be fixed later.
Like, I have notes reminding me to make notes.