Ask HN: How to get started writing as a programmer?

4 pointsNib2 comments

Hi, I'm a programmer. Like most of us are.

There are a number of people, programmers, if not very good programmers, but yeah, programmers who are great writers, like for example Pual Graham, Aaron Swartz, Quinn Norton and others in the line.

But my simple question is, how and where do I get started writing ? I mean, how do I "get" to my audience ? And how do I tell people I write ? ...

View on HN

The best way to get started is to do it. It is just like moving up the developer ladder from journeyman (not knowing anything about it and working with junior or above developers to learn the ropes) to becoming a senior or master developer. Starting small is the best way to get started, just as with everything in life so you gain experience with each project without being overwhelmed and have time to do things the write way. You can start by writing a nice 150 page book on going over your workflow on creating an app, from no code to fully functional code, encourage no copy and pasting and include pictures of the finished product at the end of each code section. Spend some time working on a theme, front and back cover and insure you have the copy proofread by professionals.

Writers write because that's what they do. Paul Graham has been at for more than 20 years...there was a PhD dissertation and then two books on Lisp before all the essays. Joel Spolsky and Dave Weiner developed a following because they wrote something interesting...regularly without worrying about audience. What they focused on was writing.

There's no such thing as writing in your head. If it's not written its not writing. So start a journal for yourself. Start a blog. Write. Everyday. If it's reasonably good, a few people may care.

Good luck.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com