I fear writing, therefore I write.

These are my first words published. And it’s scary. I’m a professional developer. I write code for a living. And I love it. It being the coding part. But being a developer in 2019 also comes with the added expectations of content creation. But this is terrifying to a lot of us. Historically the developer was not the most extrovert archetype. That might still be true for a lot of us, but certainly not as a rule anymore.

Fearing feedback

I don’t know what to expect from feedback. But I fear it. Why? I guess it’s better to dressed in the vail of mystery than the actually being a real person? But just writing that is preposterous. You and I are just people. Who do we fear? Our employer? Our peers? Are they perfect?

Be humble. Sit down.

Why the title? The implication is that I am the best. Nervous, but ready to “drop bombs”. And although I do not think I am the best, I am very good at what I do. But I still get anxious about this process. My “diamond waistcoat” does have bare patches. And I fear the holes in my knowledge.

Dan Abramov is a known figure in the React community. He works for Facebook on the React framework/lib. Earlier this year he wrote this piece and I think this shows maturity beyond his years. Most of us fear showing our bare patches, but we should embrace them, even flaunt them. Even if you’re not in tech, you should read the article.

In order to fix the ignorance, you must first acknowledge that it exists.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">📝 New on Overreacted: Things I Don’t Know as of 2018. We can admit our knowledge gaps without devaluing our expertise. <a href="https://t.co/0VJ76yPvzg">https://t.co/0VJ76yPvzg</a></p>&mdash; danabra.mov (@dan_abramov) <a href="https://twitter.com/dan_abramov/status/1078650200221204480?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 28, 2018</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"><

Sit down. Be humble. But don’t be afraid to stand up and speak. Don’t be afraid of the discussion it produces. Embrace ignorance of certain aspects. In order to fix the ignorance, you must first acknowledge that it exists.

To be the best, first know what you are worst at.

Writing about something exposes you. All your potential clients might read it and sit opposite you while you pitch them your services. And your tagline might be “Best in the biz”. I’m here to argue that it won’t reduce that claim, but bolster/invigorate/strengthen/support it. To be the best, first know what you are worst at.

The chase for knowledge

Write more, don’t be a douche, and you’ll be fine.

The life of a developer(and I would suspect other trades) is a continuous learning experience. Working on the web is an ever changing playing field. You can easily be left behind if you are not unceasing in your pursuit for knowledge. This will inevitably lead to you missing out on certain parts of the industry. And you might work for a company using “legacy” tech. Writing might be the way you keep up to date. Writing about tech? About team structure? About the social aspect of work?

Write more, don’t be a douche, and you’ll be fine.

Challenge

My reason for writing was external. A challenge from coworkers. Do you need a reason? Here it is: Write and publish an article about something you know. And do it now. Complete it within two hours. Join me in hell.

Checklist:

1. Ramble

2. Spew

3. Cover eyes

4. Publish

Don’t let your fear imprison your output. There is someone who want to hear what you have to say.

Disclaimer: Not as much of a hip-hop fan as the cultural references in this article might suggest.