On Technical Writing
Apart from the work I do as a freelance developer, I enjoy writing books and articles for a variety of publications including ASPToday.com, XML.com and Builder.com. During the past three weeks, I've been successfully negotiating a few book proposals and writing the first chapters.
All of this activity has made me think about the process of writing. I thought of sharing a few personal random observations with you:
- This may seem obvious to most but the best information you can find is right at the source. For example when I was authoring the Multimedia chapter for the book Professional Javascript 2nd Edition, I had to find some information on the Javascript garbage collector. I ended up on the SpiderMonkey website looking at the Javascript engine's source code to get the answers I needed. For my article on HTTP, I spent a heck of a lot of time looking at the published specs on the W3C website and RFCs to get the full picture.
- If you are planning to write a technical article, write it code first. I've attempted to write text before the code and I can tell you it's a very slow (and painful) process.
- It realistically takes about 12-15 hours to research and write a successful book proposal
- Here's the most effective way to avoid writer's block: If you are stuck for words for any significant period of time, stop writing. Take a walk to your local coffee house (I favor Tim Horton's), throw a couple of hoops, take a 45 min nap or spend time with your wife (or significant other). Coming back to the topic with a fresh perspective is the best cure.
- Another technique I use is to review the structure of the article/chapter and jump into additional research. Sometimes the lack of words is indicative of a lack of research on a particular topic.
- If you're really tired, your head is aching and you need to complete something on a deadline try drinking Red Bull. This potent little Austrian drink contains sugar, caffeine and Taurine (the active ingredient). Taurine is “an amino-acid found in animal proteins (and bile) that maintains the structure of cell membranes, regulates the heart, gets rid of fat and most importantly prevents brain overactivity“.
- Green tea is a great stimulant and detoxifier if you suddenly feel drowsy while writing. It is also effective for getting rid of stomach aches and nausea