I’ve had blogs on and off since I was a kid, but I typically never stick with them. I’ll write a few articles, then give up once my drafts folder becomes larger than my published. So I figured I’d write about my issues with writing!
Overthinking it#
As a developer, one of the biggest killer of side projects is overthinking the tech stack. Should I use the latest JavaScript framework? What about backend framework? How do I approach hosting and CI/CD for deployment? Relational database or non-relational? Etc, etc, etc. By the time you think through all the options, you’re too tired to actually build the project. Writing is the same for me.
What topic should I address? Did I do enough research? Is my writing too formal, or too casual? What’s the structure of my article? Is it too long, or too short? Writing typically becomes a chore for me, rather than a casual way to get my ideas onto paper. Just like programming side projects, the only articles that see the light of day are the ones where I just say “fuck it, let’s just get something out there”.
Maybe that’s what I need to keep doing, just writing my thoughts with no regard for who will read it. Because, let’s be honest, nobody is reading my articles at this point. So I should focus on learning how to get my ideas out there, and naturally my ability to do so will improve.
Why do I Overthink Writing?#
If I had to guess, my struggle with writing stems from the fact that when I’ve had to write, it’s typically going to be graded or judged. Nearly all of my writing has been for school assignments, client proposals, emails to coworkers or applications for jobs/visas/etc. In my life (and I’m guessing most people’s lives), writing is not something you do for fun. It’s a chore where you have to be perfect, or you’ll be punished. And honestly that’s a shame, and something I only see as getting worse as we get further and further away from the personal/small web due to the downfall of blogs and text based communication.
Going Forward#
I’m going to put forth more effort to write more, and overthink less. Easier said than done I know. I’m also going to stop caring who the audience is, both for my writing and side projects. What’s important is that I express my creative side, build projects/articles that are meaningful to me. I think that change of focus will lead to less drafts and more published paragraphs/lines of code.
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