Today’s Blaugust prompt is from Krikket of Nerd Girl Thoughts:

Tell us about your physical creative space, and how it influences your content creation.

My physical “creative” space is pretty simple. I do most of my blogging during breaks at work. In my office. Because of course I have my own office; “janitorial shift manager” is a very prestigious position. I’m not going to post any pictures, because it’s very simple really. I’ve got my chromebook here, my work pc that I only use if I need to print something (as the chromebook only has ONE usb port), and various office supplies all around.

The office itself is small (a couple years ago I traded size for air conditioning; a fair trade if I do say so), about 8.5’x10.5′. The computers face one corner. I’ve got on-wall bookshelves above the desk, which takes up most of two walls. The bookshelf directly in my sight has my diploma and various books (this would be where relevant people have their Important Reference Books; I just have some old college textbooks, and Japanese learning aids).

That’s how it is. Not terribly inspiring. Maybe if I had somewhere more “creative,” my posts might be better. Probably not, though, since the posts I do at home on the weekends aren’t any better. If this setting inspires me at all, it’s to work fast. Because they are work breaks. Sure, I have more time now, seeing as how we have no one in the dorms. But normal times, not so much. I’ve got to be quick. No time for proofreading or editing. (Not that I’d do anything like that anyhow; I never did for papers at for school, either.)

Today’s Blaugust prompt (original poster is Stingite) is

What skill do you want to improve on the most?

Pretty simple question. And for me, it’s a pretty simple answer. I want to improve my communication skills, and writing in particular.

See, I was always a decent writer. Competent, got good marks on my essays. I can do public speaking relatively well. Relatively. But “relatively well” isn’t good enough, in my eyes. Not when it’s important (important to me, anyhow).

I stated long ago that this was a reason for me to start this blog in the first place – to improve my writing skills. I have no real reason to do this – I’m a glorified janitor, after all. Even moving up to middle management somewhere wouldn’t really necessitate improving my writing (I’ve seen what our management does here), just keeping up my basic literacy. But I still want to improve.

I just don’t see my writing as particularly good. Oh, I know there are good ideas. That’s why I bother writing them down in the first place, whether it’s here on this blog, or somewhere else. (I’ve always been the type to hold my peace when I don’t have anything particular to add to a conversation. Drives some people up the wall.) But actually getting those ideas out, in a satisfactory manner, has always been very difficult for me. Even just explaining myself verbally is a challenge, but writing is definitely much harder. I’ll think about something for a long time, but when the time comes to let someone else know, I almost always falter.

For example, look at yesterday’s post. To me, when I read it, it seems like the barely-literate ramblings of a child. Now, I know they’re not. It’s competently done. I said what I wanted to say. But I didn’t say it how I wanted it said. It’s very simple and perfunctory. There’s no style or voice. I’ve been writing this post in my head for weeks. And yet there it is, looking like something a middle-schooler could dump out. Maybe not today’s middle schoolers, but you get the point. It was all much better in my head, but it’s just slop.

This is why I don’t do too many reviews – what can I say that is worth reading? I made yesterday’s post because I figure most anyone who reads it wouldn’t know about it, so there’s some small value there. But it’s a big part of why I haven’t put up my Picard review yet – people much more eloquent (or at least funnier) than I have said a lot about it. I still have thoughts and feelings about it, which I will post, this month, but still, I doubt it will satisfy me, besides the mere fact of finally expressing myself (to someone other than my brother, who doesn’t even care about Trek).

So yah, I want to improve my communication. I’m a smart guy, if I might toot my own horn a bit, so I shouldn’t sound like an idiot.