Writing & Authoring
So, I've been tossing around the idea of writing for awhile now.
At the start of the Match.com v5.0 project, I was going to co-author a book with my friend, and co-worker, Alan Dennis, author of .NET Multithreading. We sat down and worked through a subject, target audience, and a preliminary Table of Contents. All very exciting stuff. I was getting antsy to be a part of something like this!
The publisher was interested, they had sent it out to external resources for comments. All was going well!
Unfortunately, we both rolled into large projects, with little to no free time left. And, alas, the book disappeared all together.
Now, with Match.com finally winding down, I find my curiousity still perked for writing. I'm not sure why, but I find myself really wanting to help, share and collaborate with others. Talking with Dave Wanta, of Advanced Intellect fame and maker of the incredible aspNet* components, I was talking about meeting him finally at a Microsoft conference a few weeks ago. And, how we Match.com'ers were pretty intimidated by the group we were included in -- distinguished members of the .NET community, authors, and likewise. It was all very overwhelming, at least for me. For example, one evening on the bus ride back from the Sky Needle, I'm sitting next to a gentleman I hadn't met before. We began talking, telling each other of our backgrounds and experiences (wondeful conversation!), and wrapping it up with formal introductions; lo and behold, I was sitting next to Douglas J. Reilly (author of numerous Microsoft books; many of which I have on my bookshelf today!). Meeting and talking with Scott Guthrie, and playing CounterStrike with Rob Howard.
What a surreal experience.
Anyways, I ramble...
So, now I look down the road and try to think about how I'm going to write, what I'm going to write about, and what I hope to convey in my articles. And, I find myself enthralled with Scott Mitchell's Blog. What an awesome guide and reference for someone like me.
I only hope I can apply it now.