What I learned from Hashnode Technical Writing Bootcamp Part 1

What I learned from Hashnode Technical Writing Bootcamp Part 1

·

3 min read

Introduction

This article is part of a series, This is part one.

Last September I attended Hashnode Technical Writing bootcamp and it was the best decision I made. This bootcamp was for about two weeks. To be honest I was a passive listener not an active participant. There was a prompt after each session to write an article and publish it on Hashnode. I was not really brave enough to write them. But after finishing the bootcamp, I wish I had actively participated with the rest of the attendees. What I learned from this bootcamp is priceless. All the speakers were awesome and we learned a lot from them. In this article series, I will write about the main points from each session of the bootcamp. By the way, the sessions are recorded and they are available on YouTube

Quincy Larson's Session

  • writing is all about communicating, communication between you and whoever is reading your article.

  • It can be about anything, whether it is about books, YouTube resources or anything else.

  • Writing is just a skill like any other skill, that needs learning and in order to get Better, you need practice.

  • There is a place for everyone even if there are millions of people out there writing as well.

  • A beginners mindset is the best one for writing technical articles. Cause you will have to fully understand the topic to write about it and at the same time you will explain the topic as simple as possible while you are addressing beginners.
  • Write about what you are currently learning, that is best way to demonstrate your knowledge. “To show what you know for your future employers”

Edidong Asikpo's Session

  • Technical writing is all about giving direction on how to do things or how it works.

  • For you to become better at writing, you have to write.

  • The difference between writing and technical writing is that technical writing is explaining your thoughts logically not just writing your thoughts.

  • It is very important to know Who are we writing for. Your target audience, are they beginners or advanced? You will have to change your writing accordingly.

  • Writing is a way for you to learn as well as to explain what we know for others. We will have to research the topic extensively, to understand it then explain it to others.

  • Do not just copy and paste it from the documentation, you have to really understand it by researching it or even ask someone whether a friend, or even on Twitter.
  • Everyone has a unique voice so find it and use it. Cause your unique voice speaks to certain people. Even if there hundreds of articles on the topic, it does not mean you can't write about it.

  • For you to get started in technical writing: Take a course, Read others work, Write a lot to be better at writing and finally write consistently.

  • Always publish what you have written, cause someone might need it or your future self will need it when you forget all about it.
  • You don’t have to know everything before writing cause you will see things an expert will not see. You will visualize the topic from a beginner point of view which makes you perfect to explain to a beginner.

Conclusion

Writing is a skill that can be learned and improved. You will only get Better by writing even if it is not good enough from your point of view. You will improve with time.

Thank you for reading my post. You can follow me here on Hashnode or follow me on Twitter to be the first person to read my new posts.