If you're like me, you're not doing NaNoWriMo. I know, isn't this a sin for someone who claims to be in the world of aspiring writers? But this is how it works for me: doing NaNoWriMo would be like going outside and shooting 1,667 freethrows a day on the basketball court. I would have to shoot so fast and quick that even after a month of having shot 50,000 freethrows, I wouldn't be any better at it. In fact, in order to shoot the freethrows, I would have to ignore every impulse on how to shoot freethrows better and instead focus on how to shoot them faster.

That's not how I like to do things. That might work for an NBA player who doesn't need to reevaluate how he shoots the ball, but for me, I need to figure out the best way before I go for volume. I'd rather push myself for quantity after I've worked out many of the quality kinks.

So instead, I'm writing daily with another goal in mind--practicing not the quantity of my writing, but the quality.

Welcome back to the iPad Advice for Writers series. I have a whole list of iPad apps for writers and editors I'd like to review, so stick around, fellow iPadders and those jealous of our considerable awesomeness. Upcoming reviews include Pages, Noterize, Office2 HD, My Writing Nook, Split Pea, iAnnotate PDF and more.

Today I'm going to start with Bashō, a writing app exclusive to the iPad.

It took me way too long to find the ō to use in the above app's name, henceforth it shall be known as Basho.

Basho advertises itself as a distraction-free writing environment for the iPad. If you are a Mac user, think WriteRoom, or the nirvana-inducing Ommwriter.

Let me first say that I'm not typically an early adopter. I got my N64 after Gamecube was already out. I still use my scroll-wheel iPod and I have never had an iPhone. I usually wait for something to be cheaper or refurbished or 2nd generation before I jump on board. I'm not afraid of the early experience, I just don't mind waiting and enjoying what I have at the moment.

Ah, not so with iPad. And I'm not sure why. When it was first announced I thought it was a giant iPhone that couldn't make calls. But then I played around with one. And my kid played around with one. And I was hooked. I told myself I didn't need anything, just the dirt cheap 16GB Wi-fi only one. And maybe I could figure out how to make it work for me.

This year I was honored to be on the faculty of The Word Guild's annual Write!Canada writer's conference in Guelph, Ontario--five hours due east of my house. This was my first time attending a writer's conference as a freelance editor instead of an in-house acquisitions editor, and the difference might seem subtle but it is important. Before, my take on your manuscript was important for how I could make all your publishing dreams come true; now, I'm just a guy with an opinion. I agreed to come and meet with writers, but I really didn't expect for too many of the writers there to waste their time with an opinionated powerless guy. But from previous experience, I knew that the Canadian writers who attend the conference are usually fun, quirky folks who kindly chuckled at my international traveler persona, so I looked forward to the experience.

I wasn't disappointed; the conference was great, and I had many good conversations about the Christian book industry, about self-publishing and indie publishing and the difference between them, and about books and writing in general. I had dozens of one-on-one appointments where I met with aspiring writers and discussed their work with them, both on quality of craft and viability in the marketplace.

And I feel like I learned something on behalf of the aspiring writer: freelance editors offer a unique and vital perspective on your work.