I'm curious about how senior engineers go about writing technical blogs or articles. Specifically, I'd love to know how you choose what topics are worth writing about, how you structure your posts from identifying a problem to offering solutions and key takeaways, and how you clearly explain technical decisions, trade-offs, and architecture. Also, what criteria do you use to decide which details to include or leave out? If you could share links to your articles or blog posts, that would be really helpful too!
6 Answers
Honestly, don’t overthink it. Just write! If it helps you, that's what counts. If others find it useful too, that's just a bonus.
Writing about struggles you’ve faced is usually a good strategy. If something took you a while to figure out, chances are it’ll help someone else too. When structuring, I recommend leading with what went wrong, what you tried, and what actually worked. Skip over dead ends unless there's an amusing story to tell.
I usually write about topics that interest me or experiments I've done. It's more of a hobby for me, so I don't worry too much about being compelling.
1. Any topic is worth diving into if you explore it thoroughly.
2. I like using the SCQA (Situation, Complication, Question, Answer) framework for my posts.
3. Make it simple as if you're explaining it to a client.
4. Only include details that are directly relevant to your main point.
For deciding what to write about, it’s key to focus on what you found interesting during your projects. Typically, I start with an intro to explain the problem, then I jump into solutions, breaking things down with diagrams and visuals to make concepts clearer.
Just write about what you're currently passionate about! I structure my articles so that I can refer back to them later. I know I'll forget details, so it helps me recall things in the future!
Got a link to your blog? I'd love to check it out!