

Ask HN: How do you choose a topic when writing? - BrewerOnRails

I want to start blogging, but trying to decide on a topic for my first post has left me in a state of derp (read: http://bit.ly/n5RSlV). I feel like my lack of experience is going to be a huge problem because I simply don't have anything to say that hasn't been said before.<p>Can HN give me some pro-tips on choosing what to write about?
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mindcrime
I think you have to start with "What is your purpose in blogging", for one.
Are you trying to make money directly off the blog, via Google Adwords? Are
you just doing some personal branding, trying to establish yourself as an
expert in a field? Are you blogging to promote your company's products or
services? Are you blogging to promote a political agenda? Etc, etc...

In either case, one tip is to keep a wiki page available, or a notepad and a
pen, and as you go throughout your day, let "stuff" that you bump into spark
ideas to write about later. Write those ideas down. Maybe you see a link on HN
and you have a strong reaction to it... make a note, and blog about that.

If you use Quora, go back through all your Quora answers, and take some of the
more interesting ones and expand them into blog posts. If you don't have any,
browse Quora and see what questions catch your interest. Blog what would have
otherwise been your answer.

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BrewerOnRails
I actually have two goals: one short term and one long. The more immediate
goal is to build a blog that will tell prospective employers that hiring me is
good business. I want to show that I'm knowledgeable about my field and that I
would be a good asset to the company. Secondly, I do want to establish myself
as an expert at some point. This is a goal to be accomplished in the years to
come as I am still a new developer.

The Quora suggestion is great! I don't have a Quora account, but I do follow
links from Google to the site every once in a while, so maybe it's time I
signed up.

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nglevin
If it's something you're passionate about, write about it. What you love will
really show through your writing, give it a bit of color.

Don't get too hung up on being an original provider of content. Few people
are. Rather, think more about presentation. Anecdotes, history, even trying to
spin something into a more modern context. They all matter.

Keep writing. Keep writing often. It's the only way to get better.

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BrewerOnRails
I find the idea of writing non-original content to be pointless though. If it
isn't original then someone else has already said it and they have probably
said it better.

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tjr
One approach could be to write about how you are using the skills you wish to
demonstrate. Yet another Ruby-on-Rails tutorial-in-a-series-of-blog-posts may
indeed be boring and superfluous, while you writing about how you built some
particular project in Rails might not be.

You could write design descriptions of your projects. What decisions did you
make, and why? What was the purpose of the project? Why did you write new code
instead of using something that had already been written? Etc.

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BrewerOnRails
I hadn't thought about this. Essentially, I would be doing a postmortem on
whatever I build. Good idea!

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ScottWhigham
I don't really get why you feel you need to basically do non-stop blogging. If
you have something to say, great - say it. If not, then keep quiet until you
do have something to say. What's wrong with that approach?

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BrewerOnRails
Who said anything about non-stop blogging? I haven't even written my first
post yet.

