Aw, H_E contests! I miss those - they did get me to be more spontaneous with my writing since you have to push them out so quickly. I wish I had time for H_E again since half my flist is there. :(

Sometimes I like writing at least part of the story by hand, then typing it up later. It's slow going but when I type it up I also edit it, take out things that don't work, add in more descriptives, etc.

I used to do that when I worked, since I'd write on my breaks, and yeah, it does help with the editing process since it forces you to go over what you've written again. I should try taking that up again.