So, you want to become a technical writer (or an author, or a blogger) and you're not sure how to start. In this article, I will share some of my personal experiences and my thought process behind writing.
Background
I’ve written thousands of technical articles, blogs, and news stories on C# Corner since 2000. I became a published author at a very young age. My first technical book, titled A Programmer’s Guide to ADO.NET in C#, was published in 2001 by Apress.
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Here is some advice that may help you get started.
Start simple and small.
Starting a new article or a blog is difficult. Sometimes you just don’t know where to start.
You can start with a simple tip or a piece of code you recently worked on. Or start with something you solved recently that you're proud of. Usually, the solution to a problem is one of the best articles or blogs you can write. Here is an example. I wasn't a web developer. For one of the ASP.NET projects I was working on, I had to create a MessageBox and I found a solution I was excited about. At that time, JavaScript wasn't that popular. I created it as an article,
how to create a message box in ASP.NET that has been read almost half a million times now.
Choose a topic you know.
Do not write about something you do not understand or know. Write about something that you’ve already worked on. One of the best ways to start writing is by writing about new topics that you are learning at work. For example, if you started a new project on Angular 2 and you’re learning new code every day, that’s what you want to write. First of all, you’re already learning it, and second, you’re sharing real-world examples.
Get feedback and engage.
Once your article or blog is published, don’t just leave it alone. If you want to become good at writing, get engaged. Ask your readers to give you feedback and comments. Look for the critics. Critics are your best friends. Read them, learn from them, and try to improve in your next article or blog.
Pay attention to minor details.
We often ignore small details. But this is the most important part of the process of becoming a good author. You must pay attention to the minor details. If there is a coding error, or spelling mistake, fix it right away.
Here are some other points:
- If you take notes from some resources such as MSDN or other authors, do not forget to mention their work references and links. You do not need to hide it.
- Do not copy from somebody else. Trust me. People will know if you have copied from somewhere else and that’s no good for your career.
- Make sure you have a proper title and summary.
- Make sure you use spell checker in Microsoft word.
- Use proper screen shots and images.
- Make sure to proofread it. Ask your friends or co-workers to read it for you.
More in this series.