What I'm learning from writing really fast

I've written more than 8,000 words now on my NaNo novel -- probably the fastest 8,000 words I've ever written. And when you compress the writing process into such a short period of time, you start to notice things about your writing. Here's what I've discovered:

I write a lot of dialogue. I realized that what interests me is the interaction between the characters. I don't write tons of description, though I have a picture in my mind of the setting. I'm just more interested in how people relate. I can always go back and add description and cut unnecessary dialogue later.

I'm a little weird when I write. We've moved the computer desk out into an area of the upstairs hall so my youngest son can have his room to himself. So last night I had my earphones in and was pounding away at the story -- it was a really exciting part (at least to me) and I'm pretty sure I was mouthing the dialogue a bit as I was writing it. I was completely oblivious to my husband walking by and going downstairs. But when he came back upstairs I did notice him and he teased me a bit about being so absorbed in my story. I told him to get used to it.

My outline is evolving over time. I keep realizing that I need to divide up some parts of the story into more chapters, or I need to include another character's point of view. I had an outline to start with and it's helped, but it's certainly not set in stone and as the story evolves it changes, too. A road map is nice, even if you decide to take the scenic route.

So that's what I'm learning so far. Even if this novel never goes much beyond NaNo (but I hope it does), it's good experience. And I'm having a blast.