Ayesha SaharTable of Contents
Introduction
Benefits
Choosing a Platform
What to write?
Structure
Why write about a topic even when many articles are already present on the same topic?
Length of article
What to do if an article is way too long?
Open Source and Technical Writing
Do you need to be a technical writer in order to be a successful developer/designer?
Some Useful Tips
Conclusion
Introduction
"Technical writing is the practice of documenting processes, such as software manuals or instructional materials."
It exists in many forms and has a very different purpose and different characteristics than other writing styles. A good technical writer will make a complex topic very easy to understand! It is one of the most coveted skills in the professional workplace.
Being a good technical writer will surely benefit you a lot too. So, let's discuss all about technical writing today :)
Benefits
Now you may be thinking, "why should I start writing?"🤔 So, I'm listing down some benefits here to help you decide:
1. For example, you are writing an article on Flexbox in CSS. To do that, the first thing you will do is research. While doing so, you might end up learning a lot more than what you knew before!
2. You get an opportunity to make money online.
3. You can work remotely.
4. You can work with amazing tech companies and write for them.
5. You can showcase your own knowledge. If you have written an article that explains a certain topic really well, that means you actually "know" about it. For example, you have written an article on a React.js topic. Maybe one of the readers is from a company that is currently hiring React developers. That reader might recommend you to his company.
6. If you are writing on social media, like Twitter, you can grow an audience. People from that audience might end up becoming the first users of your Saas.
7. Get feedback from developers from all over the world.
At the end of the day, not everyone would be benefitted in all ways. You also shouldn't expect to be hired by your dream company after writing one article or tweeting just once😅 Everything requires hard work and consistency!
Choosing a Platform
Once you have decided that you will start writing, the next thing you might be thinking would be about where to write👀
Some good platforms for developers are hashnode, dev.to and medium. These platforms have a huge community, which means that people will be there to read what you write. You won't have to start from scratch to find readers. Publishing here as beginners would benefit you a lot.
If you are someone who already has a community, be it anywhere on Social Media, you can even start your own blog. Choose a tech stack and build it. This would also make a good portfolio project ;)
The best way would be to cross-post on different platforms to maximize the exposure of your articles! Fro example, I cross-post on hashnode and dev.to. I also share my articles on Twitter. Sometimes, my articles perform great on hashnode but not that much on dev.to. Still, I benefit a lot. This is all due to cross-posting.
Even if you have your own blog, you can first publish your article there and then cross-post on these platforms to get the maximum benefit!
What to write?
Actually, you can write about anything! Learned something new today? Write about it! Finally, solved that bug that was bugging you for days? Write about it! Started to explore a new field? Write about it!
A good initiative would be to define your niche. That way, you won't be stuck in the loop of finding "what to write about". Some niche ideas for developers are:
React.js
JavaScript, the boss itself ;)
Web Development
Python
C++
The thing is that you can narrow down on broaden the niche by your will. You can choose web development as a whole as your niche or narrow it down to just JavaScript, it's all your choice!
P.S:
Some people find it difficult to write. What you can do is start small. Write tweets on Twitter. It could be anything, like a list of some useful platforms for some purpose, tips, tricks, learning resources, etc. Soon, you'll get in the habit and won't find writing longer lengthed things difficult!
Structure
When asked about technical writing, many also ask about what structure to follow. Start with the introduction of the topic you are writing about. Then comes the main body. In the end, conclude your article under the heading of "conclusion". For reference, also see the headings of this article. I've used a structured way.
Since I'm writing about technical writing, I first introduced what it is, its benefits, recommended some platforms, explained what to write, and then I started discussing the structure. If I first explained what should be the length of the article, then discussed platforms, and then introduced technical writing, nothing would make sense right? Hence, structuring your articles in a way that everything moves in order is extremely important. That's because this helps the user understand what you are writing about!
Why write about a topic even when many articles are already present on the same topic?
Take the example of recipe websites. If you search for a recipe for muffins, you'll find lots of search results. Every article would teach you how to bake a muffin but their recipes would be different. This difference would result in different consistency of muffins. But, there are many people out there. Some might like recipe A which results in a buttery muffin, some might like recipe B, which results in a thick muffin. Maybe, recipe A works for a person in the USA but fails for a person in the UK. This might be due to various factors e.g change in the climate.
Just like that, some might like your article better. The solutions presented by you might work for some people but might not work for others. But that's okay! As long as you are helping even one person out there, I personally think that it is worth it :)
Length of article
Honestly speaking, there is no predefined length of an article.
For example, if I write an article about "UX of opening links", it won't be longer than 500 words at all. So if I think that no, my article should be at least 800 words long and keep on dragging it, no one would enjoy it. So, as long as your message is being conveyed, even if it has 300 words, it's an awesome article. Don't worry about the length!
What to do if an article is way too long?
A common tip that people give is to keep your articles less than 2000 words. It's because if it's too long, the readers might lose interest or the "motivation" to keep going.
But this also varies from case to case. Like, you are sharing 100 tips for ABC. Of course, it might cross this limit.
In these cases, what you can do is create a table of contents! So that readers would not have to scan the article to find what they need. In this way, they can instantly find what they came for.
Let's discuss another case. You are writing an article to guide others on how to make a counter app with React.js. This article would definitely be long. If a reader like me sees a long 4000 words article, they would just ignore it and find some other resource. In order to get their full focus, divide it into parts. If it's a 4000-word article, divide it into 3 parts or 2 parts, it's your choice. Also, include a table of contents for each part.
Open Source and Technical Writing
Might seem like a foreign concept to some of you, but trust me, it isn't! You can contribute to open-source via technical writing. For example, you can write a README for a project, you help in the documentation of a project, etc. Sounds interesting, right?
Those of you who aren't confident in your coding skills yet can easily contribute to the community in this way. Of course, it isn't mandatory but if you like this idea, then contribute :)
Do you need to be a technical writer in order to be a successful developer/designer?
The answer is a big fat NO!
Technical writing sure benefits you in a lot of ways. But it isn't mandatory. If you are interested start writing. If you aren't, then that's fine. Everyone is unique and has separate preferences, some might like to write, some might like to just read and it's absolutely fine. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise!
Some Useful Tips
- Understand your audience: Only an expert in some field will understand certain abbreviations, and acronyms that directly apply to such a field. A beginner will not understand in the same manner and, therefore, every detail must be explained and spelled out for them. Always write like you are explaining to a beginner since you never know who's gonna read your articles!
- Writing should be straightforward: Write to the point, and as simple as possible to make sure the reader understands the process or instruction. You can list steps to take to achieve the desired goal or write a short or lengthy explanation of a concept. Everything is your choice.
- Research: Even if you think you are an expert on some topic, always research. Gather information from a number of sources. Understand and analyze the information thoroughly, and then convert it into an easy to understand format to instruct those who read it.
- Be thorough: Provide enough detail to make your points. But, do not make the explanation too long to bore the reader.
- Sentences should be short: Sentences should not be too long unless absolutely required. Even if they are too long, try to structure them in an easy-to-understand way. Also, use simple language. No need to use complex words. Your language is not everyone's first language!
