A bloggy beginning

For those of you who are curious about this select some guy out of hundreds of other some guys in the school, here's a more thorough intro for me:

I've got about a billion different hobbies at any given time. My attention span is short, and my creativity is always looking for something new to glom onto. However, the major constants for me have always been drawing, writing, and playing video games. I always come back to those. Because of the fact that, of those, writing is the only that I can consider myself measurably decent at, I'm pursuing an English degree. This class is being taken alongside fiction writing classes, because my first love is and always has been prose. I've written a handful of novel-length works of fiction, one of which I'm working on cleaning up until it's actually in a state that can be published. While I was writing said work-in-progress novel, my average words per minute was 27, and words per day was about 3,000.

    So, then, why technical writing? I'm a realistic person. I know that being a novelist isn't in the cards for most aspiring writers, and even if it were, I know that writing novels doesn't pay the bills unless you are wildly successful. So, while I'm working on getting my degree, I want to take stops to make sure I'm developing the sort of writing skills that will make me useful outside of my own creative pursuits. This class is perfect for that; it's even more oriented towards office work than I expected it to be, and I'm just about sure that it'll help me get a job at some point. At least, a job that doesn't involve washing dishes and being yelled at for slow sandwich deliveries. Ideally.

    The idea of a blogging format to touch on student progress is novel, but not absurd. Sometimes, having the space to just take down one's thoughts can really help us all get our ducks in a row. Worst case scenario, I at least get the enjoyment of hearing my fingers tippity tapping on the keyboard for a bit, which makes me feel real productive. And, I guess by definition, this sort of writing is a kind of technical communication. I've honestly thought a few times about starting a blog on my own time, because my opinions are very plentiful, and, to me, very interesting, so this is a nice kick in the rear to do it. As a writer, it helps a lot to have an outlet for putting words on the page that doesn't involve any external pressure of publishing-level quality. It's a lot like doodling in a sketchbook between big paintings. Did I mention I also draw? Maybe I can put some of my illustrations up here.

    Anyway, this class as a whole is full of pleasant surprises. Things have been very well-communicated and thoughtful to the point where I rarely have any doubt about what I need to be doing to move forward. There are a lot of real-world applications, especially in the textbook, that help me wrap my head around the way that otherwise inscrutable office jobs actually work. This is exactly the kind of thing that people talk about when they say, "oh, I don't know what it is he does. Some kind of business work." It's always been very nebulous and opaque to me, and this class seems to be doing well to wave that smoke away.

    For those of you who are still around, thanks! I've been a little rambly for these past few hundred words, but consider that my way of wordily stretching my legs. Like I said, it's freeing to write something that doesn't have to be at absolute max efficiency, which is how I've been approaching most of my fiction as of late. I hope that the first week of school has treated all of you guys well!