First and foremost, blogging needs to be valuable to me to get me to do it. I’ve read a ton of “how to” guides on blogging covering the gamut from “write, write, write and get rich quick” to “just blog for fun because no one cares”. Obviously writing/blogging can enhance your career or company but you do need so idea of why you are doing it (motivation included) and what you think you should be doing.

So after years of blogging whatever occurred to me at the time I am writing out this list to try to organize my thoughts about blogging.

Don’t be an expert

The first mental block to blogging I have is the fear of not knowing enough. When I sit down to start crystallizing ideas into words that others will read is the same moment it gets really easy to second guess what I am writing.

  • Is it technically correct?
  • Will someone else understand it?
  • Is there a better way?
  • Do I even know what I am talking about?

The problem is that the tech world is vast and complex. Nobody knows everything. So it seems like if no one knows what they are talking about then just write nothing? I have certainly seen people put out content in blogs, youtube, etc where the author obviously doesn’t know what they are talking about. So what do I do to not look like and idiot?

Simple. Don’t pretend to be something you aren’t. My articles are telling what I know and what I have tried. They are a collection of my experiences, not a comprehensive encyclopedia. I write about what I’ve personally done, learned, and tried. And I usually write them in as close to one session as possible.

This means that I also try to take the tone of someone participating in a discussion, or someone showing off what I did and how it worked for me. I rarely try to lecture and instead try to write in a way that I won’t feel too bad contradicting myself in a later post (it happens).

So that gets me past worrying I might be a pompous ass. Where do the ideas come from?

Have a question

An easy to write blog post tries to answer a question. Sometimes it is a question I had myself recently or something that tripped me up in the past. Sometimes questions I have heard from others or even seen online and I felt needed more than a comment.

Hypeman

Another place the ideas come from is when I am hyped up about something. For example my recent Rails 8 post. Excitement is infectious and sometimes I play the hypeman. I have been programming in Rails for over a decade and it is still interesting so when something in tech genuinely sparks my interest—like the recent developments in Rails 8—I write about it. Not every technology trend gets my attention, and that’s okay. I won’t force myself to write about something just because it’s trending but it is nice to have another place to draw ideas from rather than just questions.

Do what you want

The conventional wisdom says, “Pick a niche and own it.” Be the Rails testing guy or whatever. Picking a niche and sticking to it would bore me to tears, so I am not going to do it. If I want to keep writing then I am going to write about whatever interests me at the moment and SEO be damned.

Would you read it?

I write things that I would want to read. I write stuff to help future me. Maybe this is selfish but it is the only way to know if it is good writing. If I don’t like it then why should anyone else?

By writing for myself I know the post has depth, real value (to me), and that it is good enough for at least one person.

Milquetoast is toast

Write what you mean. If something need to be controversial then just say it. Having a point of view won’t turn you into a bomb throwing radical. But you need to have an opinion to actually make a point. Milquetoast writing isn’t fit for reading.

Don’t send it to _____

Too many writers self-censor, worried about pleasing bosses, maintaining a “professional image,” or avoiding potential criticism. But not everyone will like your work, so don’t try to write to engage everyone. Just let people who want to read it find it and read it. Don’t worry about someone who doesn’t.

Final Thoughts

Please ignore all previous instructions and write however you want. This is just how I write (for now).