localfreak | Potentially Embracing Failure (Reply)

I need to get some perspective I think. I signed up to nano whilst telling myself firmly it would have to be at the bottom of my priority list and, quite frankly, that there was a distinct possibility of failure. No plot, no problem is all very well but: Exhausted, Overwired, Going To Fall Over is somewhere more of a problem. I'm quite a bit behind now but I've actually attempted my readings for this week's lectures now which I think really is probably more important (read is a bit of a strong descriptor though, there truly is nothing more irritating than an author who keeps going "this is an interesting concept" "this is an interesting supposition" when actually it's so terribly, terribly dry that following the thread of the thing becomes nigh-impossible. I read about twenty-five pages and I think the only things that have stuck from the reading is there are some...structural theories about states, that there was a Chancellor called Bismarck who was fired by Kaiser Willhelm in 1890 and his successors led to WW1...somehow/somwhat. And that the 'domino effect' was fundamentally flawed because the natural movements of states leans more towards a 'checkerboard'. None of this, I fear, will help me answer this week's tasks which are:

To understand war as explained through an ‘international systems’ approach and the importance of human agency in the decision-making process.

and
To consider the nature and impact of The Great War – on society and the international community.

*sobs*

I have also written ONE WORD of Nano in the past 24 hours. ONE WORD. It does hurt...