Choose a topic

Getting started might be the most daunting step if you're new to writing. Let me tell you my secret. Each time I wrote content on this blog, it came from the following list:

• A concept that I've learned.
• Software or hardware that I've created.
• A technical problem that I've solved.

If you carefully observe these three scenarios, you'll see one common thing: It's about topics that I already know.

Go ahead, and pick a topic that you already know. A common mistake, something that I've made a lot, is selecting a new subject. If you do that, you'll have to learn two things at a time: writing and the topic.

pitfall

I have seen many people saying that they don't believe what they want to write is helpful to other people. The truth is, you would only know after publishing it. Don't let this discourage you.

Type of content

Choosing a topic will also help you determine how to write your content. There are various types of technical content. Let's take a look at them briefly.

Tutorials

In tutorials, as a writer, you act as a teacher, and the reader acts as a student. Your students follow your instructions and perform steps to achieve some end.

Audience: You're writing a tutorial to help people get started with something.

Things to remember

• Make sure that all the steps in the tutorial work. Remember, you're the teacher responsible for your student's success.
• Make sure that your reader sees results as soon as possible.
• Provide only necessary information. Tutorials are to help people get started. Extra information distracts the reader.

Guides

The guides are to help readers solve a particular problem.

Audience: Your audience is someone looking for a solution to their problem.

Things to remember

• Guides are a series of steps, just like the tutorial.
• Focus on helping your reader by solving their problem.

Deep dives

Deep dives, sometimes called explanations, are writings that help the reader understand the big picture about a particular topic. They're discussions that illuminate the subject at hand.

Audience: Someone interested in learnings details of how things work.

Things to remember

• Don't instruct; Provide facts and details.
• Give background information and context.

info

Reference is another type of content used in technical writing. I omitted it by choice, as it could be more beginner friendly. You can read more about types of content at Divio Documentation

Exercise

Fire up your favorite text editor and do the following:

• Choose a topic from the ideas presented in this chapter. If you're short on topics, I'm curating a topic list where you can choose a topic that suits you.
• Think about what type of content you want to write: tutorial, guide, or deep-dive.