A recurring problem I have with school is that it emphasizes focusing on the constant stream of long, arduous tasks (assigned, presumably, for better understanding of the learning material) and restricts my freedom to pursue my own long-term creative projects. One of these projects that I've often attempted to complete is the annual writing competition known as NaNoWriMo: a race through November to write a first draft of a novel at least 50,000 words long. It's fast-paced, encourages me to react quickly and come up with ideas that interest me, and on paper it seems easy enough. One thousand, six hundred, sixty-seven words per day: that usually takes me an hour or so, which isn't a problem in itself. What proved to be a difficulty this past week was that my subconscious refused to let me focus that long despite me desperately wanting to pound away at my keyboard whenever I had free time. I'd personally like to blame the ever-increasing workload that USM thrusts upon me, but ultimately it's just a matter of my character and my aversion to work in general as opposed to schoolwork. Allow me to explain.…show more content… Earlier, I had prepared a small folder of world-building notes for my budding story – a science-fiction adventure with a massive scale and an inordinately high technology level. (My rationale for this was that I was tired of the stereotypical dystopia.) I organized my notes quickly and set to work, achieving just under 1,800 words in ninety minutes. This was my first shortcoming: I failed to seize the initiative fully, and didn't try to get a head start before my other work overtook
