A while back, we had a client who wanted to create a Write For DO-style program. They wanted to start small, with "warm" contacts, and provide some basic editorial guidance to help people get started. It never really got off the ground, because they didn't put enough resources behind it, and because it's HARD to get busy people to set aside time to write.
As part of the project, I created a couple of "How To" guides - not "How To Build a Yelp Clone" or "How to Integrate Snowflake in Your React App", but "How To Write" guides. I created two, one for detailed tutorials, and the second for technical opinions.
I came back to these recently in preparing for the November Monthly Challenge with Virtual Coffee. The challenge is modeled on NaNoWriMo - as a group, we're trying to write 100,000 published words in the month of November. I offered to update those guides and tweak them for the VC community, and then I thought I might as well share them with everyone! So, here they are!
- How Did You Build That? Tell A Great Technical Story
- Why Do You Do It That Way? How To Share Your Technical Opinions So People Will Listen
I'm offering these with a couple of caveats:
- First, I would much rather have you write something than get hung up on achieving perfection. These guides are intended to be inspiration and to help you "level up" if you want to. No requirements!
- Second, these are based mostly on my experience, and might not reflect everyone's preferences. I'm not trying to prescribe anything, just suggest an approach that works for me that represents generalized good practices.
I'll share each of the two guides in a separate post - let me know what you think and if they help you in any way! If you use them, I'd love to get a mention when you publish!
Top comments (1)
I wish I'd read these guides before I wrote my guide. But I'm reading them now!