Inspiring Novelists:

[ChrisA]

Here is a smaller section of my novel entitled, "Ritalin".

It was common at Potter College for students to complain about attention-deficit problems to their psychiatrists back home. Subsequently, an enormous amount of students were being prescribed study drugs such as Ritalin, whether they had a medical need for them or not. Almost every student seemed to have a prescription for Ritalin or knew someone who had a prescription for Ritalin. The reason so many students wanted prescriptions for Ritalin was because the drug motivated you to study. On Ritalin, you could sit down in one place and concentrate unstintingly for six or seven hours at a time. This is why the drug became such a desirable commodity on the college campus, especially right before finals week when the students were cramming for their tests.

In the beginning, Iron Sandwich shared his Ritalin with Lethe. They crushed up the pills and snorted them for “fun”. The baby blue powder clung to the hair follicles on the insides of their nostrils as they chain-smoked and talked incessantly. Ritalin made them jittery and compulsive but also intensely focused. During their dorm-room discussions, they could anticipate almost every word the other was about to say, and oftentimes, the drug was so intense that they believed they could read into each other’s minds.

When Iron Sandwich was out of the room, Lethe rummaged through his things, looking for the little blue pills. He would find the magic bottle hidden underneath his roommate’s socks in his top dresser drawer, or he would find it in his roommate’s travel bag, or he would find it under his pillow. It was as if Iron Sandwich knew that Lethe was getting into his stuff and stealing his pills because the bottle was hidden in a different place on each occasion. Though Lethe suspected that Sandwich knew, he stole his pills anyway, taking a handful at a time.

Lethe snorted his roommate’s pills in a hurry because he was afraid Sandwich would walk in on him. Lethe always checked his nose in the mirror to make sure he was “clean”. After the thieving ritual was over, he would go to the library.

Lethe spent most of his time in the college library. Since an early age, he had been taught to discipline himself in school. His father had skipped three grades in high school, and graduated as the second best medical student in Iraq. Just as his mother had high expectations for her son, the Doctor had high expectations for his son.

Raised in a house where his studies were of the utmost importance, Lethe devoted more time to his assignments and essays than any of his college peers. He considered himself an overachiever and not “naturally smart”. What came easy to others was hard work and toil for him. But he soon accustomed himself to the work and his studies almost became a soothing meditation. In addition, Lethe took an interest in what he was learning, especially in literature and philosophy, which eased the burden of studying for so many hours at a time.

By college, however, Lethe’s studying verged on an obsession. Even before he started taking Ritalin to study, Lethe would spend hours in the library each day, reading additional chapters, outlining additional material, and making notes, endless notes. Repetitive behaviors, such as recopying his notes, or rereading passages, had a calming effect on him because they gave him the sensation that he was doing everything perfectly. The youth had a lot of grit when it came to studying. Hiding himself in numberless study rooms, Lethe forgot about the hours of the day, working arduously on each task, until he felt a certain level of satisfaction. Like his father, he clung to the idea that things could be done perfectly.

When Lethe discovered Ritalin to study, he had the same blissful encounter that one has when they first fall in love. The burden that he had always felt while studying, immediately dissolved. Now without any effort he could escape into knowledge and disappear. He entered a trance of self-absorption. The state of concentration while studying gave him a rapturous feeling of his unlimited potential. The fantasy of his infinite potential was gratifying and euphoric, and the longer he studied, the deeper he fell into this intellectual abyss.

Ritalin also promoted another ideal. The youth had always wanted to be better than the other students. He craved an identity that would set him apart from the rest. This wasn’t the basic desire that all of us have to be different; this was the exalted desire to be a genius. He knew fully well that he wasn’t a genius, but it was this very sense of his own lack of genius, this dearth, which felt like a vast expanse of barrenness in the his genes, prompting him to achieve more and more, until at last transforming himself into . . . a genius.

Now the idea of “genius” fluttered through the vast expanse of barrenness like a colorful, flapping butterfly from another world. “Can one become a genius?” He wondered.

[butchiesmom]

I take Ritalin for ADD so can understand how it is desired for the focus it provides. I like the story you're telling and the message I think you're going for. I've made a few suggestions and changed a few things to make it a bit easier to understand and to read. I try to let the author know that any suggestions I make are just that...suggestions. You can use them or decide not to.
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It was common at Potter College for students to complain about attention-deficit problems to their psychiatrists back home. Subsequently, an enormous amount of students were being prescribed study drugs such as Ritalin, whether they had a medical need for them or not. Almost every student seemed to have a prescription for or knew someone who had a prescription for it. The reason so many students wanted prescriptions for Ritalin was because the drug motivated you to study. With it, you could sit down in one place and concentrate unstintingly for six or seven hours at a time. This is why the drug became such a desirable commodity on the college campus, especially right before finals week when the students were cramming for their tests.

In the beginning, Iron Sandwich shared his Ritalin with Lethe. They crushed up the pills and snorted them for “fun”. The baby blue powder clung to the hair follicles on the insides of their nostrils as they chain-smoked and talked incessantly. Ritalin made them jittery and compulsive but also intensely focused. During their dorm-room discussions, they could anticipate almost every word the other was about to say, and oftentimes, the drug was so intense that they believed they could read into each other’s minds.

When Iron Sandwich was out of the room, Lethe rummaged through his things, looking for the little blue pills. He would find the magic bottle hidden underneath his roommate’s socks in his top dresser drawer, in his roommate’s travel bag, or under his pillow. It was as if Iron Sandwich knew that Lethe was getting into his stuff and stealing his pills because the bottle was hidden in a different place on each time. Though Lethe suspected that IronSandwich knew, he stole his pills anyway, taking a handful at a time.

Lethe snorted his roommate’s pills in a hurry because he was afraid Sandwich would walk in on him. He always checked his nose in the mirror to make sure he was “clean”. After the thieving ritual was over, he would go to the library.

Lethe spent most of his time in the college library. He had been taught to discipline himself in school, from the start. His father had skipped three grades in high school, and graduated as the second best medical student in Iraq. Just as his mother had high expectations for her son, so did his father.

Raised in a house where his studies were of the utmost importance, Lethe devoted more time to his assignments and essays than any of his college peers. He considered himself an overachiever and not “naturally smart”. What came easy to others was hard work for him. But he soon accustomed himself to the work and his studies almost became a soothing meditation. In addition, Lethe took an interest in what he was learning, especially in literature and philosophy, which eased the burden of studying for so many hours at a time.

By college, however, Lethe’s studying verged on an obsession. Even before he started taking Ritalin to study, Lethe would spend hours in the library each day, reading additional chapters, outlining additional material, and making endless notes.

Repetitive behaviors, such as recopying his notes, or rereading passages, had a calming effect on him because they gave him the sensation that he was doing everything perfectly. The youth had a lot of grit when it came to studying. Hiding himself in numberless study rooms, Lethe forgot about the hours of the day, working arduously on each task, until he felt a certain level of satisfaction. Like his father, he clung to the idea that things could be done perfectly.

When Lethe discovered Ritalin to study, he had the same blissful feeling one has when they first fall in love. The burden he had always felt while studying, immediately dissolved. Now, without any effort, he could escape into knowledge and disappear. He entered a trance of self-absorption. The state of concentration while studying gave him a rapturous feeling of his unlimited potential. The fantasy of his infinite potential was gratifying and euphoric, and the longer he studied, the deeper he fell into this intellectual abyss.

Ritalin also promoted another ideal. The youth had always wanted to be better than the other students. He craved an identity that would set him apart from the rest. This wasn’t the basic desire that all of us have to be different; this was the exalted desire to be a genius. He knew fully well that he wasn’t a genius, but it was this very sense of his own lack of higher intellect, this dearth, which felt like a vast expanse of barrenness in his genes, prompting him to achieve more and more, until at last transforming himself into . . . a genius.

Now the idea of “genius” fluttered through the vast expanse of barrenness like a colorful, flapping butterfly from another world. “Can one become a genius?” He wondered.
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I hope this helps!
hugs,
Gail