I Have Questions About NaNoWriMo [to help me decide if I should do it next year or not]

Hey Mibbians, sorry that there's yet another journal regarding NaNoWriMo. But I have a few questions for those of you who have or are currently involved in it. Mind helping me out? My friends have been bugging about it for years now.

1. How many words do you write per day? And I'm not talking about the suggested amount. Do you tend to write 10,000 one day, then leave it for a week, or write a little bit each day? Which is more effective for you?

2. How do you resist the temptation to go back and edit your work? What do you do if you think of important details you should have put in previous chapters? Do you actually go back and correct/proofread, or do you just turn off your inner editor and continue on?

3. Where do you find inspiration for a 50,000+ word novel? Does it just hit you in the face, or does it gradually come to you?

4. Do you do research beforehand, or just wing it? If you do research, how much? How long do you spend developing the characters, plotlines, etc. before NaNo actually begins? Or, do you just let the characters write themselves?

5. Would you ever consider, or have you ever attempted, getting published? Have you succeeded? Was it through self publishing? (Oh, and if you could have a pen name, what would it be?)

6. Just out of curiosity - this question is optional - what was/is your novel about? I'm curious ^_^

Much love,
Alexandra <3