[HN Gopher] Why and how to write things on the Internet (2022)
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       Why and how to write things on the Internet (2022)
        
       Author : jger15
       Score  : 16 points
       Date   : 2025-08-12 13:14 UTC (2 days ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (www.benkuhn.net)
 (TXT) w3m dump (www.benkuhn.net)
        
       | zahlman wrote:
       | > In fact, my suggestion is to make all your writing-related
       | choices to optimize for this. If something seems like a good idea
       | in principle, but would make it harder for you to write
       | consistently or slower to get feedback, don't do it.
       | 
       | But what if the thing that seems to be making it harder to write
       | consistently (on a blog; I seem to have no problem commenting on
       | forums) is just being me?
        
         | pieisgood wrote:
         | I have bad news
        
         | MonkeyClub wrote:
         | > (on a blog; I seem to have no problem commenting on forums)
         | 
         | Then write for forums. Let me briefly elaborate.
         | 
         | In a forum, the conversation is already going,and you catch it
         | at a place that interests you, and throw in your two cents.
         | 
         | In a blog, there's too much ceremony: find "blog worthy" idea,
         | do "blog worthy" research, write "blog worthy" prose, review
         | and edit "blog worthily", publish.
         | 
         | Too many hassles, and perhaps some psychological barriers here
         | or there too.
         | 
         | When you have an intetesting thought, use the forum as the
         | audience in your mind, and write your response to your thought.
         | Take this or that position, turn them on their heads, contrast
         | and combine them, play around with them.
         | 
         | Then save and close the file, and let it steep. Come back to it
         | when you remember it, or when it starts bugging you, and when
         | you feel ready make a paper plane out of it and chuck it out
         | the window to the winds, i.e. turn it into HTML and put it
         | somewhere online. Ask some friends for feedback and their
         | thoughts, retouch your thinking and your text. Lather, rinse,
         | repeat.
         | 
         | You will consistently have ideas and counters ideas, it's
         | unavoidable. After you have a rudimentary technique down (and
         | forums grade/conversational is perfectly adequate) the rest is
         | just imprinting your thought process on paper/into a file. It
         | doesn't need to be written for fanciful reasons, thinking
         | through writing is perfectly legit.
         | 
         | Then one file will lead to another, and then another, when you
         | feel like it, because your writing muscle will strengthen. You
         | don't need a daily/weekly/monthly schedule, unless you want to
         | adopt one on purpose.
         | 
         | You can also read around the tech blogosphere for more
         | inspiration, posts on writing or blogging is a frequent
         | blogging subject :)
         | 
         | Given how we're on HN, I'd be amiss not to recommend a read
         | through PG's essays on writing, and I also find Dan Luu's also
         | interesting (https://danluu.com/writing-non-advice/).
         | 
         | Reading these, don't take them as gospel but as tasters,
         | gauging your feelings about this or that approach, and fleshing
         | out a process that works for you, understanding your likes and
         | dislikes. Then accept your process.
         | 
         | But don't start with writing a blogging _engine_ , for God's
         | sake :)
        
         | obscure-enigma wrote:
         | lower your bar
        
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       (page generated 2025-08-14 23:01 UTC)