Ask HN: How do you choose a topic when writing?

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5190284

by BrewerOnRails • 13 years ago

5 10 13 years ago

news.ycombinator.com

I want to start blogging, but trying to decide on a topic for my first post has left me in a state of derp (read: http://bit.ly/n5RSlV). I feel like my lack of experience is going to be a huge problem because I simply don't have anything to say that hasn't been said before.

Can HN give me some pro-tips on choosing what to write about?

nglevin2• 13 years ago

If it's something you're passionate about, write about it. What you love will really show through your writing, give it a bit of color.

Don't get too hung up on being an original provider of content. Few people are. Rather, think more about presentation. Anecdotes, history, even trying to spin something into a more modern context. They all matter.

Keep writing. Keep writing often. It's the only way to get better.

BrewerOnRails4• 13 years ago

I find the idea of writing non-original content to be pointless though. If it isn't original then someone else has already said it and they have probably said it better.

nglevin2• 13 years ago

You're defeating yourself too soon.

I think you will be very surprised as to how much people don't know. The regurgitation of information isn't a byproduct of laziness; it's a direct result of two things.

1. People don't like to read.

2. There is far, far too much noise on the web, as it is.

It may have already been said, but I'll guarantee you that only a small minority ever read it.

You could talk about what it is that you know. What it is you hope to know. Not every developer takes the same road. If your intent is to eventually position yourself as a domain expert, the rest should write itself.

breadbox• 13 years ago

Yeah, and of the first dozen programs I wrote, probably someone had already written all of them, and done a far better job. That's not the point.

You're not going to get better if you don't get started.

tjr• 13 years ago

One approach could be to write about how you are using the skills you wish to demonstrate. Yet another Ruby-on-Rails tutorial-in-a-series-of-blog-posts may indeed be boring and superfluous, while you writing about how you built some particular project in Rails might not be.

You could write design descriptions of your projects. What decisions did you make, and why? What was the purpose of the project? Why did you write new code instead of using something that had already been written? Etc.

ScottWhigham• 13 years ago

I don't really get why you feel you need to basically do non-stop blogging. If you have something to say, great - say it. If not, then keep quiet until you do have something to say. What's wrong with that approach?

BrewerOnRails4• 13 years ago

Who said anything about non-stop blogging? I haven't even written my first post yet.

mindcrime• 13 years ago

I think you have to start with "What is your purpose in blogging", for one. Are you trying to make money directly off the blog, via Google Adwords? Are you just doing some personal branding, trying to establish yourself as an expert in a field? Are you blogging to promote your company's products or services? Are you blogging to promote a political agenda? Etc, etc...

In either case, one tip is to keep a wiki page available, or a notepad and a pen, and as you go throughout your day, let "stuff" that you bump into spark ideas to write about later. Write those ideas down. Maybe you see a link on HN and you have a strong reaction to it... make a note, and blog about that.

If you use Quora, go back through all your Quora answers, and take some of the more interesting ones and expand them into blog posts. If you don't have any, browse Quora and see what questions catch your interest. Blog what would have otherwise been your answer.

BrewerOnRails4• 13 years ago

I actually have two goals: one short term and one long. The more immediate goal is to build a blog that will tell prospective employers that hiring me is good business. I want to show that I'm knowledgeable about my field and that I would be a good asset to the company. Secondly, I do want to establish myself as an expert at some point. This is a goal to be accomplished in the years to come as I am still a new developer.

The Quora suggestion is great! I don't have a Quora account, but I do follow links from Google to the site every once in a while, so maybe it's time I signed up.

Ask HN: How do you choose a topic when writing?

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