That one morning when I got up at the buttcrack of dawn to study chemistry

It’s a scenario familiar to most, if not all, university and college students: that one exam that you’re concerned isn’t going to go so well. There’s at least one every semester, and you find yourself studying for it a little more than the others, even despite the fact that you know, deep in the pit of your stomach, with every fiber of your soul, that you need to study for EVERYTHING in university unless you want it to eat you alive. Clearly, as the good university or college student you are, you limit your partying or whatever else you like to do during exams week, and you study for the God forsaken things – but sometimes you study too much for the exams you think you’re going to get shitty grades in, end up passing those with flying colors, and bomb the easy insert-best-subject-here exam you thought you were guaranteed an A+ in.

Well... this is not at all what happened to me in my second semester of second year (this time last year). In fact, the exact opposite happened. What on Earth does this have to do with writing, you ask? You’ll see, in due time.

This time last year I had six classes and a lab on my plate, including two very difficult courses: methods and stats in psychology II (which is objectively a difficult course because it contains two exams, ten pieces of homework and a 30-50 page term project including statistical analyses) and solutions chemistry (which is difficult to me because my feelings toward general chemistry can be compared perpetually to the average person’s reaction to a 100-year-old mop dipped in a puddle of mud, with flies buzzing around it, and containing approximately seven dead mice). As you may have guessed, at the end of the semester, the chemistry exam was the one I was most worried about. But did I study adequately for this exam considering I was already failing the course at that point? Of course not. Instead, I spent all my time concentrating on my stats exam and my term project. I ended up making an A in that course, a grade of which I was very proud considering I am not naturally good with stats or anything math-related. But that’s nowhere near the point.

All this to say that a couple days after my stats exam sat the chemistry exam, looming nefariously in the near distance. I therefore began studying for my chemistry final the day before. This was clearly not a smart decision, so that night, I decided I would stay up for as long as possible to study, go to bed, wake up at five o’clock and resume (my exam was at 8:30 in the morning).

So that’s exactly what I did. And guess what? It wasn’t enough. I failed that course. And looking back... it really freaking doesn’t surprise me. At all.

That stats course I took last year taught me a lot of things about university, and so did the chemistry course, despite the fact that I failed one and passed the other with a 4.0. The primary lesson they taught me was that you don’t have to be good at something going into it to come out with an A+. I’ve learned that natural talent and intelligence have very, very little to do with your grades in university. Hard work, perseverance, and motivation are everything. As someone who’s always been intelligent and who never had to study for anything to get As in high school, this was a lesson I guess I just had to learn the hard way. I’m not good at stats, and I got excellent grades in chemistry in high school... but look what happened here. I was highly motivated for one and didn’t give a shit about the other – and what do you know? That was all it took to make the tables turn.

They taught me another difficult lesson, too – this one perhaps even more difficult. If I’m going to succeed in university – if I’m going to get the grades I want, and need to get into medical school – I need to stop prioritizing my writing over everything.

It’s tough, but I’m finishing up my third year now and I really do need to start thinking about my future first. Not working on my story for a few days makes me cranky, so I still try to sneak it in for a moment or two during a not-so-busy day... but if I don’t get to work on it for a while, you know what? It’s not going to kill me. At this point I need discipline and perspective, and I need to realize that my writing isn’t going away – it’ll still be there at the end of the semester and I can concentrate on it all I want then.

This semester, I finally was able to detach myself enough from my own work to concentrate primarily on my education. The results are fantastic. I’m looking at a 3.8-3.9 session GPA if everything goes according to plan, and that chemistry course? I’m making a B right now, hopefully bringing it up to a B+ or an A- with the final. I’ve already started studying and my exam is only in two weeks. And the best part is, so far it’s looking like that morning where I woke up at the buttcrack of dawn to study chemistry isn’t going to have to happen this year. Of course, it doesn’t mean I’m any less of a serious writer... all it means is that I’m learning to prioritize. And what I’ve realized is that having your priorities in order is far less stressful.

Lesson learned.

What's new?

I've been really busy with other goings-on lately (read: school and being a complete bum), which is why I haven't had much time to update lately. But I won NaNoWriMo! So that's a start. c:

HERE'S THE 411 ON MY BORING LIFE:

- I might be getting a job at this epic tea place, which would be nice, since I love tea. And money.

- I started a new collection of short stories (mostly horror) to work on on the side. It's untitled as of now, since I'm having this weird... title-block... thing. At the moment.

- School is being absolutely retarded. I guess that's usually what happens when you go take six courses in the same semester, but yeah. I'm ambitious. So I'm studying a lot.

- I've started painting again. Which I haven't done since I was in high school art classes, yo. But I like it, it's fun.

- "Life in Black and White" is... well, it's going a bit slowly atm because of school, but I most certainly have not given up on it. It's progressing (like a snail). G will soon need shock treatments, which I'm both looking forward to writing and not looking forward to writing. I'm weird. Yeah, and J's birthday is not this Friday but next (the 19th) and I've decided to make a little cake in celebration and to paint a picture of him on another canvas which I shall go out and buy shortly. Which works because I really need recent drawings of him and G. Because the ones I have look like they were drawn by a twelve-year-old. Just saying. c:

- That's pretty much it.

I'm not able to update much at the moment, but if you'd like to check me out some other places on the web, here are some links to the places where I'm active:

- My art
- This awkward parody blog I'm doing with my writing group. I'm following most of them on it, so check out their parody-blogs too!
- I'm planning on possibly opening up a Youtube account, so stay tuned for that.
- You can always e-mail me at nlleblanc@ymail.com if you have something to say.

What are you guys up to? :P

Pre-NaNoWriMo

I'm taking a break from my intense philosophy studying (and surprisingly, that's not even sarcastic. Philosophy is freaking DEMONIC.) to explain my plan for how in the world I am going to get to the end of Chapter 60 for November 1st.

Yes, I do have a plan!

Why do I need to get to Chapter 61 for November 1st, you ask? Well, as all of you writers out there must know, National Novel Writing Month starts on November 1st. Currently, my NaNoWriMo profile's Novel Info states that I will be undertaking "Life in Black and White, Part III" as this year's project. And Part III of Life in Black and White starts at Chapter 61.

Where am I now, you ask? Since I had to do an entire revamp of Chapter 42, I am currently working on Chapter 45.

I swear to God, I have a plan!

And I know my plans haven't exactly always worked wonders in the past, but I will get to Chapter 61 on time if it's the last thing I do. All writers need to learn to work with deadlines at some point, right? This'll be good experience.

Also, since I have my NaNo Travel Mug, I'm all set. Bring it on!

So however am I going to pull this off?

Well, this Friday is my last day of school before I'm off for an entire week. And since NaNoWriMo starts that Sunday, the timing couldn't have been more perfect.

So here's my plan. It was devised with the assumption that I won't get any writing done this coming weekend, which I doubt will be true. I have to give myself some room to move around, though, in case something unexpected happens!

So... here goes:


Monday, October 26th: Chapters 45, 46 and 47.

Tuesday, October 27th: Chapters 48, 49 and 50.

Wednesday, October 28th: Chapters 51, (beginning of chapter arc (my chapter arc is already about halfway written) ->) 52 and 53

Thursday, October 29th: Chapters 54, 55 and 56 (<- end of chapter arc)

Friday, October 30th: Chapters 57 and 58

Saturday, October 31st: Chapter 60, preliminary Part III planning.


Before you ask, yes, I am going to be holed up in my living room all week like a recluse. When you're a novelist on a mission, there are certain sacrifices you sometimes have to make!

Wish me luck! :)

6 days till Montreal, or the dilemmas of a pre-med novelist.

Things to do:
- French assignment due tomorrow
- Statistics homework due Friday (technically next Wednesday, but I kind of won't be in the province...)
- Go to the mall and get money out for cafe with WFA/bus tomorrow
- Figure out what bus to take from university to cafe with WFA
- Make an appointment with the Dean of Sciences to ask him if I need to take those 10 extra pre-med courses or not (I'm hoping NOT, because the list contains math)
- Read the next chapter of psych
- Re-read my anatomy notes so that I actually don't fail my next test.
- Draft an e-mail to BPDcentral for the BPD Feature Project (the BPD Info site has generously agreed to forward it for me)
- Do dishes for mom
- Figure out whether or not WFA wants to come with me to the NaNoWriMo writing retreat in Fredericton
- Make a packing list for Montreal
- Find someone, ANYONE to switch my 12-8 shift next Saturday with
- Work on Chapter 42!!

See what happened there? Writing is the last thing on my list. Lately, it seems like writing is ALWAYS the last thing on my list. And I really need to fix that, to make time for my story, if I want to have the slightest chance to have Part II done by November 1st.

What I need is better time management. But how do I make time to find ways to manage time when there's barely enough time to do everything else? *rubs temples*

One thing's for sure: university students always need to juggle things. It becomes more complicated, I'd say, when the university student is question is trying to get into a graduate medical school that only accepts 30 people a year. Oh yeah, and she writes books, too!

Sometimes, writing HAS to take the back burner. It's part of "growing up", in a sense. When I was in grade 11, I had little else to do but write. Now, I have responsibilities. I have homework, tests every other week, and studying that I actually need to do. I can't just slip by like I did in high school - those days are over.

So I accept it. I do what I need to do, and sometimes, I steal away a few precious minutes to write down a good idea. To imagine a scene between friends, enemies, or lovers, or wannabe-lovers. To tell myself, "the weekend's coming! You can sit down at the computer with a nice cup of HT and write all day."

I accept that now, writing's not the only thing - and hell, it may not even be the most important thing. I accept it... but very seldom do I like it.


I'll update again later, hopefully having crossed a few things off that epic massive list!