I decided to participate in National Novel Writing Month, the once a year event in which authors attempt to write a 50,000 word manuscript in the allotted time of 30 days.

It's sort of a competition, but no one judges the entries' quality. You win just by writing 50,000 words. There are free goodies for winning, but basically it's something you do just for the sake of doing it, like climbing a mountain.

If you're interested, you can register at: NanNoWriMo.