

Ask HN: Topics for writing - gxs

The more I progress in my career, the more I see how valuable having good communication skills can be.<p>As much as I hate to admit it, I see how easily it is to be brought on a project as a programmer, be told what to do, and carry it out. It is, on the other hand, much more difficult (and to some degree) much more valuable to a) have knowledge in the domain you&#x27;re programming in and b) an ability to efficiently communicate this knowledge to others.<p>My question to all of you is: how do you improve your skills as a writer. If I were to begin a blog, for example, I wouldn&#x27;t even know what to write about. And then, even if I did, I wouldn&#x27;t really have an audience to provide feedback.<p>The only thing I can think of is taking writing classes at JC at night, but I would rather try something new.<p>Thanks for your input.
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ohjeez
I'm a professional writer and editor. I regularly hire technology experts like
you to explain things to other tech experts.

There are several paths you can follow. I would start out by writing for
yourself, first. That could be a blog or even a daily journal. (The Artist's
Way by Julia Cameron is recommended.) At this point don't worry about what to
write; just get yourself into the habit of articulating your thoughts. Nobody
needs to see this, just as they don't need to see your first Hello World
efforts with a new programming language. It's okay to fail. In fact, it's
necessary.

Another reason to write first for yourself is to discover what you like to
write and what you're good at. (Ideally these overlap!) By writing for myself,
first (originally in computer user group newsletters) I taught myself how to
write a product review, and if I say so myself I became damned good at it.
(Well, I don't have to say so myself; these days I'm a top reviewer on Amazon,
and it's just a hobby.) You might discover that you like doing "follow the
bouncing ball" how-to articles, or that you find them painfully difficult. You
may discover a fondness for writing round-up articles (5 bug tracking tools)
or reviews of programming books. Or a really effective rant. Whatever... the
point is that you should try to write in different categories.

It won't take long before you begin to recognize your writing weaknesses, even
if you don't know how to fix them yet. Again, like software development: You
could realize that you tend to write software with memory leaks, even if you
don't know the skills to fix it yet. But seeing what needs to be improved --
at least in your own head -- is important. Because if you think you're
perfect, you won't learn from others.

Only then should you start to get feedback.

Whew, this is already pretty long. Let me know if it's on the right track, and
I'll keep going.

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gxs
Wow this is great advice thank you. By all means, if time permits please keep
going.

As as an aside, I've always suffered from a lack of "intrinsic" motivation for
things - hence my desire for an audience to keep me honest so to speak. But I
agree, it might be a better use of everyone's time to workout the initial
kinks worked out on my own first.

Thanks again.

~~~
ohjeez
Okay, I'll go on for a little longer.

One thing to keep in mind is your goal in writing. There are people who want
to write (or at least to have-written-something), and they don't care if the
manuscript languishes in a drawer. There are folks who want to be published:
to see their byline on a page. And there are people who want to earn money
(ideally a living) from their writing.

All of these are fine goals. None is better than another. But you will find
that writers in one category look down on those in another. Those of us who
earn a living from our wordcrafting sometimes can sneer at those who would
write for free, for instance. Don't let this bother you.

But _do_ pay attention to what your goals are... or how they develop. (This is
something you may learn about yourself as you do your "writing just for me"
process.) Because your goals, naturally, shape the manner in which you guide
your own writing and related skills. That is, if you'd like to earn a bit of
money from writing eventually, then you have to think in terms of getting
attention from editors ( __cough __like me), and marketing, and writing about
topics that someone might pay for. If you only want to be a better writer
because it 'll help you become a better programmer (because it never hurts to
communicate better!) that's a different set of choices.

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jperiasw
Your already have an audience. Your co-workers at your office, start an
initiative like "know PHP" or "Email writing". Send out weekly e-mailers on
it. Get feedback from your boss and co-workers. You communicate and you get
feedback.

~~~
gxs
Interesting idea, thanks.

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ibudiallo
I recently started my own blog and my biggest worry was finding a subject. I
realized that when I write just one post I get ideas for my next one and as
tempted as I get to published all in a day I try to follow my regular
schedule. There are times were I spend a full week without writing but it
doesn't bring me down cause I know sometimes it takes time to find the right
subject.

My main reason for the blog was to improve my writing and 30 posts later I can
already see the difference.

