I know there are many writers on here and I need help with a problem.  The other day (which was a snow day) I wrote a short spin off of a novel I had written a few years ago (please check it out if you haven't already).  I'm on Spring Break now and since I'm doing nothing, it might be a good idea to write more spin offs and stuff but every time I think about doing that I feel like it's a bad idea.  When I was writing that novel, it pretty much took over.  It was pretty much what I lived and breathed, to the point where I had a hard time doing my school work and even failed a quiz in calc II (although if it was any other math class I would have done fine).  I feel messed up even thinking about it, because I don't want it to happen again.  Even after that spin off I can feel it seeping back into me.  I have so much going for me that I don't want to wreak it because of a story, however this week I'm pretty much sitting at home all the time and the only friends I'll get to talk to are my friends on here.  I know you guys would enjoy it and I would have something productive to do besides playing Pokemon and doing homework, but I don't want, and can't afford to have it messing with me when I go back to school.  Does this happen to any of you and what do you do to fight it?

That's happened to me once before. What you could do is set an alarm and try to only write a certain amount each day so you'll still have time for studying or doing schoolwork.

Writing is something I find to be very enjoyable, but I have to be in a certain mood to write. If you are the same way, then you may want to take advantage of this opportunity... however, it sounds to me that you are not looking into writing professionally? If you are not and you have school work that needs done then you should put that ahead of writing and once you are finished work on writing. You don't want to screw up anything in your future over something you enjoy doing on the side.

This is when doing your homework first thing is really important.  You take the time you need to get schoolwork done and then anytime left is for your own amusement.  It's really hard to do; discipline is something that takes practice.  Maybe you can make a rule to yourself that if you don't do your homework, the next day you can't write no matter if you finish your homework or not.  Don't give up writing, though.  You'll find when you go to college that all that experience will help you when writing all those papers ^^

What I try to do is reward myself; do your homework and the reward for finishing is being allowed to write. It motivates you to get it done early and work hard and fast, so you've got time to write later on. 

It sounds like you're putting us enjoying your work over your own well-being. And anything that can possibly wreck everything for you doesn't seem that productive to me,  regardless if it's for the benefit of others. But even though this doesn't happen to me, I hope you find your answer.

I felt the same way when writing a novel once.  I got so absorbed into it that it seemed I was neglecting most other things in life, struggling to finish it and get it prepped for publishing (which resulted in a huge waste of time, might I note).  What I do now is write only as time permits, like after I'm finished studying or on weekends.  Instead of writing a mass amount at once I try to write slowly over the course of days, which does help immensely.  Trust me, I do know what you mean about getting "hooked" on it, and it is hard to balance things around writing.  Don't give up writing, though!  It's a great gift that can fade with time...trust me.