Ask HN: Starting blogging when you're not an expert?

If you'll allow me a personal anecdote on the matter:

10 years ago I knew absolutely nothing about "creativity." I worked in an environment where the word was tossed around a lot, but any time I asked what it meant I got conflicting, confusing, and sometimes seemingly backwards responses.

I wanted to better understand the concept I kept hearing about, so I started a blog. I worked hard to read everything I could about creativity, wrote down my thoughts on the subject a few times a week, and connected with people also interested in the subject.

After just a couple of years I started building up a sizable audience. It turned out a lot of people didn't know much about creativity and wanted to follow along my journey. My naivety was theirs, and by sharing the journey of discovery and rumination with the audience, they felt like the journey was just as much their as it was mine.

After six years I had more than 150,000 subscribers to the blog and a book deal with a real publisher. I ended up being invited to write for Adobe's creative publication 99u as well as Inc.com. As of a year or two ago I started being invited to speak on creativity at events around the world. I also ended up building a number of successful products (apps and publications) based on the things I learned over my years blogging.

Everything I learned about creative thinking over the last decade is thanks to that blog and the time I put into it.

The catch is this: it takes time and effort to blog, about anything. At times it can be an arduous task. You can dedicate 10 years to it like I have and still not see anything tangible come as a result. But the biggest benefit to blogging about a specific subject—particularly if you are not yet an expert in that subject—is the same benefit to journaling: it gives you an excuse to think about the thing in ways that you otherwise may not.

> The default comment on the Internet is outrage. If you write anything, your commenters will either be spam or people calling you an idiot.

> The trick is learning to brush it off and completely ignore this hate. Break through that and you can start producing interesting work. Most people don't manage to get to that breakthrough. Good luck.

A better approach is to try to learn from the critique you receive. Try to not take it personally when someone attacks you, instead see if he/she is right and try to improve yourself.

Also, the tone in which you write your articles will, most of the time, set the tone of the comments you will receive. If you open with something like XXX is a horrible technology/language you will be called names for sure. A better approach is to write in a positive tone, e.g. present a (possibly) better alternative without bashing other languages or libraries.