Thanks for taking the time to do this! Your book, POODR, was the first technical/programming book I ever read. I also am enjoying 99 Bottles, and just generally have found all of your technical writing approachable, friendly, and useful.
I'm curious to know: how do you decide what makes for good technical writing (blog post or book)? What does good technical writing do well? What does unapproachable writing miss? And are there any guidelines or goals that you strive for in your own technical writing?
(This question comes to you from someone who'd very much like to write her own programming book someday soon! ☺️)
Veidehi I'd like to say that you already have written the equivalent of a book. If you compiled all the content of BaseCS and Technical Tuesdays there would be at least 200 pages of excellent content there.
Thanks for all of your contributions, they have been helpful to a great number of people, myself included.
Sandi Metz, author of Practical Object-Oriented Design in Ruby and 99 Bottles of OOP, believes in simple code and straightforward explanations. She writes, consults, and teaches about OO design.
First, you should definitely write a book. Painful as writing is (at least for me), having written is a great pleasure, and others will be grateful for your efforts.
As far as topics, I just think of things that I know now that younger, less-experienced Sandi would have benefited from having been told. I think of my past self as eager, capable, but vastly ignorant, and feel very sympathetic to the problems she encountered. I have confidence that she could understand things, if only they were explained well. She's the imaginary reader for whom I write, and my main goal is to make her feel smart.
Thanks for taking the time to do this! Your book, POODR, was the first technical/programming book I ever read. I also am enjoying 99 Bottles, and just generally have found all of your technical writing approachable, friendly, and useful.
I'm curious to know: how do you decide what makes for good technical writing (blog post or book)? What does good technical writing do well? What does unapproachable writing miss? And are there any guidelines or goals that you strive for in your own technical writing?
(This question comes to you from someone who'd very much like to write her own programming book someday soon! ☺️)
Please write that book :-)
Veidehi I'd like to say that you already have written the equivalent of a book. If you compiled all the content of BaseCS and Technical Tuesdays there would be at least 200 pages of excellent content there.
Thanks for all of your contributions, they have been helpful to a great number of people, myself included.
First, you should definitely write a book. Painful as writing is (at least for me), having written is a great pleasure, and others will be grateful for your efforts.
As far as topics, I just think of things that I know now that younger, less-experienced Sandi would have benefited from having been told. I think of my past self as eager, capable, but vastly ignorant, and feel very sympathetic to the problems she encountered. I have confidence that she could understand things, if only they were explained well. She's the imaginary reader for whom I write, and my main goal is to make her feel smart.
This is a wonderful answer -- THANK YOU! ❤️
Seconded.
This is such useful advice.