Ask HN: How to get started writing a blog?

4 pointshyper_frog1y ago5 comments

I'm a programmer, currently pursuing a bachelor's in computer science and I'd like to start blogging to share my thoughts and experiences about various topics, not just programming. But in case of technical topics, how do I get over the fact that I'm not good enough or experienced enough to write about that particular topic? In general how do I get started writing blogs (not asking about the tech stack) and share it with people across the internet and form a sort of community?

5 comments

bediger40001y ago

Daniel Meissler has a couple of articles about this, one technical, one motivational:

https://danielmiessler.com/blog/so-you-want-to-start-a-blog

https://danielmiessler.com/blog/why-everyone-needs-a-blog

This kind of addresses the "how do I get over $X": https://igorstechnoclub.com/why-you-need-to-blog-more-even-i...

I took Meissler's advice after reading the "Why Everyone Needs a Blog" article. I had already come to "Igor's Techno Club" ideas by the time I read it, but Igor is very convincing.

I think your motivation and content ideas are perfect. You will get better at writing by writing - that appears to be the only way to become an accomplished writer. As far as not being experienced, Mark Twain once wrote that "Experience is what you get right after you need it". Just do it. Be a human.

My blog: https://bruceediger.com/

caminmccluskey1y ago

I really like the Twain quote.

With reference to OP; you'll notice on this site and elsewhere on the web, the best posts are very frequently of the form - "I just figured out this thing and I'm writing this blog post to share my experience while it's fresh in my mind". We could speculate on why that is but I imagine it's because they tend to be much more relatable and actually more helpful to anyone searching out how to do something for the first time. Since you'll likely directly address the questions an expert will have forgotten they ever had.

ovalanche1y ago

I agree with this approach: write with a healthy dose of humility, but don’t hold back!

cyndunlop1y ago

My colleague and I wrote a book on this: https://github.com/scynthiadunlop/WritingForDevelopersBook You can preview chapters on the Manning site.

cyndunlop1y ago

Also, we captured how other bloggers got started at https://writethatblog.substack.com/t/tech-blogger-insights

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse

5 comments

bediger40001y ago

Daniel Meissler has a couple of articles about this, one technical, one motivational:

https://danielmiessler.com/blog/so-you-want-to-start-a-blog

https://danielmiessler.com/blog/why-everyone-needs-a-blog

This kind of addresses the "how do I get over $X": https://igorstechnoclub.com/why-you-need-to-blog-more-even-i...

I took Meissler's advice after reading the "Why Everyone Needs a Blog" article. I had already come to "Igor's Techno Club" ideas by the time I read it, but Igor is very convincing.

My blog: https://bruceediger.com/

caminmccluskey1y ago

I really like the Twain quote.

ovalanche1y ago

I agree with this approach: write with a healthy dose of humility, but don’t hold back!

cyndunlop1y ago

My colleague and I wrote a book on this: https://github.com/scynthiadunlop/WritingForDevelopersBook You can preview chapters on the Manning site.

cyndunlop1y ago

Also, we captured how other bloggers got started at https://writethatblog.substack.com/t/tech-blogger-insights

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse