Retreat, Writing, and Midterms

It's Friday, I'm in the office this morning, which means I have 2 1/2 hours of quiet time all to myself, and the internet reading blogs and answering email. So, am I writing, because its quiet, I have deadlines, I should be writing? Nope. Any deadlines I had or have are on hold. I'm in school and this semester I took on Human Physiology, Microbiology, and Biochemistry and the labs, so there is no extra time to write. I know - I know - a writer writes - they must write - it is in their soul to write - yes, but my muse is on hiatus - I know because I asked her to go - so that I could concentrate on my studies. I need A's and if I spend my writing, I can't study. I'm not whining, it's a trade-off.

Next semester - my last as an undergrad - is way easier even though I have more classes, so there will be time to write. And there is time after this semester is over - and it's half over - I know because mid-terms are next week and the writer's retreat I was suppose to go on this weekend with my writer's group, I had to decline because I need to study. I will go to the next one, because it's a great way to recharge, regroup, and be supported by people who understand what it's like to be a writer and the amount of time and energy needed to put the right words down in the right order so that you get the story your characters are demanding you tell in a way that makes sense and doesn't come out like dribble.

I could write and study and work and raise My Joy at the same time, but I'm sure the reader would not like it at all if my sword wielding heroine is just about skewer the evil villain with a flaming loop of bacteria yelling "No, you have to finish your homework and read before you can go outside and play and turn the TV off." And I don't know if my proffessors have enough of a sense of humor to understand how a flaming arrow lodged in the throat of the major bad guy while the hero and heroine scale the fortress wall is the example of DNA and RNA synthesis. But it might work. Maybe.

Or, I'll just bide my time, keeping notes of anything newsworthy or the snippets of information that my characters are sending me and using my papers due as a way to further my research on my books, so that if the heroine is dealing with a rare and antique book, she's not carrying it under her arm or shoving it haphazardly into her backpack, even if doing that would partially accomplish the hero's goal of destroying it.

That being said, I still want to participate in NaNoWriMo, because it would be the first time in years that I haven't. My goal wouldn't be 50,000 words but more like 3,000. Which isn't much, maybe 15 pages. But it's 15 pages. And I'd be writing. But then again, I could end up with my heroine skewering the bad guy with a flaming loop of bacteria.