Reminds me of mataroa's (personal project) philosophy: https://mataroa.blog/#philosophy
And of Jorge Luis Borges:
“What I’m really concerned about is reaching one person. And that person may be myself for all I know.”
Just Write
21–30 of 43 posts
Re: Just Write
#22Earlier quoted context omitted.
Share the post! Would love to read it
Well, if you insist: https://sheep.horse/2025/1/the_act_of_creation.html I think it is a good example of what the parent link is advocating - a short(ish) post on a single topic. We all enjoy long and informative articles but there is a place for things longer than a tweet but shorter than a essay.
Great post and very motivating! Thanks
Re: Just Write
#23In order for me to take this sentiment serious I have to assume that the author is referring to a select group of people who happen to agree with his worldview and not the masses, otherwise I would have to think that his take is ignorant. Most people have been “just writing” on the web for over a decade. Look at where it’s gotten us.
Writing is thinking, typing a snarky response to clickbait isn't writing, it is creating content for someone else's ad mill.
Re: Just Write
#24If your goal is to write, the worst thing you can do as an engineer is to try and write your own blog engine, or fiddle around with some custom settings. Fight that urge. The thing to tackle is to figure out the habit of writing first. And you can only do that by writing consistently. If you have nothing insightful to write, write about something you took a couple hours to figure out in a TIL.
Preach it. I had a pretty comfortable Markdown-to-Hugo-to-rsync pipeline set up. Know what’s even easier? Paying for a micro.blog account to glue all that stuff together for me, and using their perfectly fine app to publish and edit on the go.
Re: Just Write
#25Doesn't seem the author is taking their own advice. Posted a single blog post on January 8th and hasn't posted since
I'm sympathetic - knowing something is different from putting it into practice, and sometimes other life things happen too.
I've been writing online for a few years now and for me, it comes in bursts. I recently started a new blog and publish it every two weeks - something that helped me was to write a lot when I was in the write mood, which gave me material to edit during off-weeks.
Re: Just Write
#26Doesn't seem the author is taking their own advice. Posted a single blog post on January 8th and hasn't posted since
"Quality over quantity" is a thing, especially for individuals as opposed to large publishing groups. Personally, I find that the people who post less on their blog, BlueSky account or YouTube produce the best content over their peers. I enjoy a Folding Ideas video infinitely more times more than the garbage Linus Tech Tips pumps out every day.
Re: Just Write
#27In order for me to take this sentiment serious I have to assume that the author is referring to a select group of people who happen to agree with his worldview and not the masses, otherwise I would have to think that his take is ignorant. Most people have been “just writing” on the web for over a decade. Look at where it’s gotten us.
I haven't. I registered on ghost two years ago before turning 40 and have been paying them for two years now while I write nothing. It's hard to get started. I'm hoping to overcome this. This post helps.
Here’s what I wish someone had told me a lot earlier:
It’s OK to blog about silly things. Rant about something that annoyed you. Talk about how you made something. It doesn’t have to be perfect. No one cares if you make mistakes. Going from zero to something is the important part, not going from something to perfection.
And the more you do all the, the sooner you’ll find your own voice, and the easier it all gets.
Re: Just Write
#28Why? No, really. Why write? He’s not saying anything, so what’s the point?
In a selfish sense, the act of writing can be beneficial to one's inner thinking, regardless of the quality of output.
Re: Just Write
#29Writing != Publishing. It's wise to not conflate these two acts.
Let Writing be personal; reflective. Occasionally one might feel like sharing with another self. Then, publish with kindness to self. Publishing is an open set of choices, including writing a rambling email to a friend or two. If writing publicly is stressful, email someone.
Re: Just Write
#30“If it helps, get drunk, choose a pseudonym, and post anonymously.”
Bad writing advice Hall of Fame contender right there.