For many people, November is the buildup to a much more exciting time. The holidays seem right around the corner and everyone wishes to go home. For me, November is a month I both dread and yearn for. Every year either I scramble to remember key dates about a subject I never had heard of before or I comfortably accept my imminent doom and charge ahead with no plan.

Of course, I’m talking about NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month, which spans the entire month of November. The goal? To win. And to win, you have to write 50,000 words. That’s 1,667 words per day. It sounds hard— and it is. When I was fourteen I watched a video online about a girl who wrote a book in a month, and although I didn’t participate in NaNoWriMo that year it inspired me to do it the next, which is how I came to write my first book. I showed up on the first of November with my camera, my laptop, and a vague idea for a story. That year I wrote a cross between historical fiction and fantasy, and if I ever have to give anyone my number one writing advice it’s this— don’t write a fantasy novel without planning anything beforehand.

In the NaNoWriMo community, we have three types of people, the planners, the pansters, and the “plansters”. The first one being those who meticulously plan every interaction and the second being those who arrive with pen and paper on the first day and if they’re lucky perhaps the inkling of an idea. I fit right in between as a “planster,” depending on a novel. Typically, I like to focus on historical fiction. It offers me an opportunity to live vicariously through my characters’ lives, allowing me to experience first-hand medieval England or the cold war period in the United States. What you’ll find is fundamentally it doesn’t matter what period of history you’re in, we all face similar issues. In addition, historical fiction allows me to find hidden moments of history. Last year I spent a week looking at brands of Russian ice-cream and even went for a taste test. I was so obsessed with historical accuracy that I listened to over ten different USA radio shows from the ’60s. These slices of history have all been lost to time, and only remain in the few people who lived through this time. Discovering that we share the same struggles and aspirations from over seventy years ago is something I find fundamentally human, and I can immortalize those moments and breathe new life into them through my writing.

The idea of someone fixating on a very niche subject because of something they offhandedly read in a book of mine is something that thrills me.

For my NaNoWriMo preparation, I tend to read history textbooks, watch old radio broadcasts, compile playlists, and print out character sheets. I usually print out a calendar with my target word count for the day. Typically, 1,667 words are needed, however, I tend to shift my writing so that it allows me to skip some days later in the month. That way when I have school assignments due I don’t have to worry about being behind on my word count

Under the pretense of ‘research’, I allow myself to try various foods and talk to unique people, as well as send miscellaneous emails to old library archives or museums. As fun as this sounds, writing historical fiction does have its drawbacks. For one, treading the line between historical accuracy and creative liberty is very hard. It’s easy to either let your imagination take hold and completely make up events and people, as well as places, yet simultaneously be trapped by every single detail from whether the fabric your characters wear or the species of tree in that area is accurate. Understandably this is an issue I struggle with a lot. While I love writing, my love for history is also great, and it’s a conundrum being able to balance the two.

Besides the actual writing, there are two ways I enhance my NaNoWriMo experience. For one, it serves as an excellent time to get out of your comfort zone and meet new people. I started participating in a NaNoWriMo writing group last year, and the stories of the people I meet there could fill books on their own. I’m always fascinated by the quiet English teachers who come up with elaborate mysteries, or the office clerk who’s fascinated by science fiction. Going from an environment with few creatives to one where everyone is brimming with ideas perpetuates the excitement of writing a novel. Not to mention that it’s a great opportunity to make connections and meet like-minded people, such as the one time I got in touch with someone who liked to play an obscure board game I liked.

There’s nothing better than sitting in a room with fellow writers, all in silence, while fingers type away furiously. Sometimes in writing groups, we talk about our novels and give advice, or relate them to our own lives. We set a timer for ten, fifteen minutes, and do word sprints, an activity where you allocate a time and are not allowed to stop writing until the timer goes off.

Another thing I do apart from writing during NaNoWriMo is vlogging my experience. I did this the first year because I wanted to see if I could actually write a novel in a month and vlogging allowed me to be accountable to my promise. I ended up making a fifteen-minute video in which I detailed my progress. The next year, that video turned out to be forty minutes long and three hours of uncut footage! It’s amazing to do this as it allows me to see my growth as a writer in a glaringly obvious way. Looking back at the first video and seeing myself write a fantasy novel with no notion of what fantasy actually is, although painful, serves as a constant reminder of how much I’ve improved and grown as an artist.

Overall, I highly recommend you look into NaNoWriMo. The point isn’t to write a best-selling novel that will outdo J.K Rowling, nor even write something to publish. Sometimes writing is just about exploring your mind and interests, or creating meaningless art that is only meaningful to yourself, and NaNoWriMo allows you to do that alongside some amazing people.

KEEP READING: Write a Novel in Just One Month? Parents Can Do NaNoWriMo Too!

Photos: NaNoWriMo website, Unsplash, and the Author

Andrea is currently in her final year of high school in Beijing, aspiring to study English and journalism in the United Kingdom. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, taking long walks, and binge-watching Netflix.

 

Over the last couple of weeks colleges and boarding schools have been descending on Beijing, Shanghai, and other parts of China. It is always interesting to see the wide diversity of schools coming but also the intensity with which students and their families take advantage of these opportunities.

Families have so much choice with leaves me with this musing about a university fair at Harrow last night. There were over 100 universities from the likes of the US, UK, Canada, Hong Kong, Korea, the Netherlands, and France. Such a wide range of opportunities! There were great workshops on “What is Liberal Arts”, “Studying in the Netherlands”, “Why Business School in Europe”, and several others; All to whet the perspective appetites of attendees. Several things were noticeable –

1. Despite the current issues between China and the US there seems to be no waning of the interest in attending schools in the US. Their tables were packed. The UK was also a significant draw as well especially given the caliber of schools attending – several Russell Group Schools. All suggesting that these two countries are still very much on families’ minds as they look to their future educational paths.
2. Other regions still had a draw, but certainly not like the US and the UK. Which is interesting given the prestige of some of the schools attending many of which are in the top 100 or so of World Ranking.

For students who are thinking a year or two ahead of the admission process, it is curious that students are not taking advantage of considering a wide range of options. In one conversation the topic was the narrow focus of where people consider being “good” schools. And the range seems to get narrower and narrower as admission rates to those schools gets lower and lower. One would think that at this time in a student’s investigation process they would think out side the norm and learn what is available.

Having said that, there remains the whole hole of rankings. Just the other day Inside Higher Ed released an article focusing on a study by Stanford Graduate School of Education titled “To Find the Best Fit, Ignore the Rankings.” The first remarkable thing is that this is from Stanford. It is so refreshing that an educational leader is taking this stance and the hope would be that people take notice. A key part of the article is that based on the extensive analysis of their research the many factors students and families consider when looking at college – student learning, job satisfaction, well-being, and future income, these factors are not considered or used in developing rank. Further, “Research tells us that the most successful students, both in college and beyond, are the ones who engage in the undergraduate experience regardless of how selective a school may be. This is almost always the case whether a student attends the top-ranked or 200th-ranked college” Denise Pope, Senior Lecturer.

So we come back to the premise – do research, visit schools, weigh options that will engage you and where you will be happy. This applies to boarding schools or any school for that matter. But, in being able to see what is available, one must step beyond what one “knows’ or thinks they know. We attend classes because we want to learn, but strangely in thinking about school operationally people have a hard time being open minded to the enormously wide range of opportunities the world has to offer.

Some other minor musings, not really related to this topic but two weeks ago at the National Association of College Admission Counselors Conference in Salt Lake. The big topic of conversation in some sessions and a national committee I sit on was around testing. Colleges and universities are beginning to relook at the importance and value of testing in the admission process. The University of California, one of the main users of SAT will convene a committee to look at testing as related to admissions at the Provost level (Provosts are top dogs in a university). So this along with more schools going Test Optional or dropping the Writing Section is bringing to the front the concerns of many in the field. The International Initiatives Committee on which I sit gave NACAC the go ahead to open an investigation into the cost international students bear in testing, the costs which are much higher than domestic students.

The world is changing, how will you take advantage of the coming changes and be prepared for that future!

Photo: toptenscu.com

Parents, send your children out of the room. On no account let them read this post. I’m about to reveal something shocking.

Are they all gone? OK, here goes….

Scientists in Australia have discovered a positive correlation between playing online video games and higher exam scores in math, science and reading.

You read that right. According to the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, tests on over 12,000 Australian teenagers found that those who regularly played online games scored 15 points above average in maths and reading tests and 17 points above average in science.

Now, I don’t know what your family life is like, but mine is a daily battle over how much screen time the kids get. If my boys find out that playing games helps them at school, that battle may be lost forever. And this study is not an outlier; research by Columbia University linked video game playing in 6-11 year olds with “a greatly increased chance of high intellectual functioning and overall school competence.”

I have to admit that the reason we have a games console is that I’m rather partial to a spot of button-bashing myself. In fact I believe games to be emerging as the dominant narrative art form of the 21^st century. If video gaming still makes you think of Space Invaders and Pacman, you’re in for a shock. The best current video games have greater depth and subtlety, and better characterization, than the average Hollywood blockbuster. Sometimes I watch my kids playing, and marvel at the degree of cooperation and creativity that’s going on, whether they’re building castles in Minecraft or designing levels for Little Big Planet.

But correlation is not causation. Perhaps all the studies show is that the more intellectual children are spending time online, while the sporty kids are out playing ball. And academic success is not the only important thing in life. I want my boys to be fit and healthy, to be able to kick and throw and catch, to roam and explore within safe boundaries.

And not all online activity is good news. Heavy users of social media score lower on average, and the more frequent the use the greater the impact on academic achievement. They also have a shorter attention span. Shocking, isn’t it? Parents must be warned. I’d better go right now and post about it on Facebook and WeChat…

Photo: Chris Parfitt via Flickr

Utilitarianism is an economic ideal – you spend a minimum to obtain a maximum. Human subject research follows the same principle, as individuals are constantly utilized for advancing knowledge and technology and essentially benefiting millions, if not billions of people. These human subjects, however, are prone to irreversible and fatal consequences throughout the research process. Human subject research poses a great dilemma: should we sacrifice human ethics for potential medical development, or should we protect all individuals and halt scientific advancement?

Although the course of human experimentation has became increasingly more ethical, the act still remains controversial for their methods. Human subject research was most prevalent during World War II, when Nazi-Germany performed inhumane acts in the name of eugenics and Japan operated the covert project Unit 731 for biochemical warfare. Attitudes towards human clinical trials shifted over the decades; today, experiments are more appropriate because we preach morals. Though Nazi-Germany eugenic experiments and current investigations trying to curing cancer are on opposite ends of the morality spectrum, both share one common characteristic: they place human beings in potentially fatal circumstances. Though contemporary human subject research cannot cease, we must still ensure that subjects are well protected. 

Research subjects who participate in such experiments must be offered protection against all negative outcomes. Recently, 800 victims of the infamous Guatemala syphilis experiments filed a lawsuit for $1 billion against John Hopkins University for the school’s involvement in the experiment. This situation exemplifies how the failure to ensure subject safety will eschew responsibility and cause endless complications. Although medical technology back then could have not improved the subjects’ conditions, victims are still fighting for justice, as they should be.

It was recently announced that the world’s first human head transplant would be conducted within the next two years. Russian man Valery Siridonov has volunteered to undergo this surgery, as he suffers from a degenerative muscular disease that confines him to wheelchair. He believes that the experiment “isn’t only an excellent opportunity […], but it will also create a scientific basis for future generations.” Despite the fact that Siridonov is optimistically prepared for the worst outcome, professionals contend that this surgery is impractical and the subject will “experience a fate worse than death”. In situations where human subjects are fully aware and eager, should we respect their decisions despite the possibly inhumane consequences?

Human beings are oftentimes necessary in biomedical experimentation for solutions to and explanations of scientific and psychological enigmas, thus it is nearly impossible to halt current practices. In carrying out experiments with unknown outcomes, agencies and governments must ensure that they can be responsible for the research subjects by contemplating the procedures and consequences without neglecting ethics. The subjects, too, must recognize all possible results and be fully willing to commit themselves in such risky activities. Medicine should not only be based in science, but also in ethics; otherwise, our findings may only come as a result of someone else’s suffering.

This article originally appeared in the May/June 2015 issue of UNIT-E. It was written by Stella Huang, a student at Tsinghua International School

About UNIT-E
UNIT-E was founded in the spring of 2010 with the aim of establishing a non-profit, student-run magazine for international students in Beijing. Staffed by current students from a range of international schools, the magazine provides an amalgam of cultural tidbits, fragments of Beijing student life, and a broad spectrum of unique perspectives from a diverse group of young adults.

Photo: Courtesy of Wikimedia

If our kids fear us, fear being punished, fear the lecture, etc., then they will be less likely to come clea.

Photo by duncan via Flickr

The general consensus has been that babies of stay-at-home mums receive more nurture-time than those whose parents are full-time workers. It’s a logical conclusion, right? The more time you spend at home with your children, the more they will be cuddled and held and read to, which will in-turn help them grow in to well-rounded and emotionally balanced members of society.

Perhaps not.

Drawing on diary data from the parents of 3,000 babies between the ages of 3 and 14 months, an Australian study Breastfeeding and Infants’ Time Use suggests that mothers who work full-time spend on average 83 minutes less per day with their child in comparison to their stay-at-home counterparts. This statistic may not be met with a great deal of surprise, and – in isolation – will do little to deter those who believe the best care a child can get is directly from mom. But where the research (undertaken at the Australian Institute of Family Studies) opposes conjecture is in its assertion that children of working parents spend 81 minutes more per day with their fathers, and that any remaining deficit is made up by time spent with other relatives and carers.

So maybe those working moms and dads who feel guilty about the time they’re spending at the office instead of being at home with the kids should give themselves a break. In the view of AIFS director Alan Hayes, “this study presents encouraging signs that [working parents]appear to try and manage the responsibilities of work and raising families in a way that does not negatively impact on children.”

Continue the debate on our forum. Do you worry that your child suffers because of your decision to return to work, or are working parents better at managing their time to ensure their little ones don’t miss out?