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Comment by xiphias | Hacker News Reader

When I read ,,the only thing you need is an editor'', I thought how cool it would be if what I write would be reviewed by some people before going public...it would make me less shy about it.

Then I realized he means a text editor (though he's an editor himself)

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I'd be happy to take a look at your posts before you publish them if you'd like. That goes for anyone, feel free to email me. In return I might send you some of my own.

Not as hard as you may think!

http://matt.might.net/articles/shell-scripts-for-passive-voi... http://www.techtoolsforwriters.com/hemingway-app-a-proofread...

I try to run my articles through my kind colleagues and ex-colleagues before any publishing. It helps clarifying bits that are potentially misunderstood. People are however a bit shy so I don't get style recommendations often

That's my biggest problem, how do you improve your written communication without an editor? You can do the same thing over and over and call it practice, but without a reviewer how will you magically improve this skill?

Same way you acquire any other service. Pay for it, or know somebody.

1. Post stuff for people to view. Pay attention to what is popular, and what isn't 2. Read stuff aloud before posting 3. Read widely, and pay attention to writing you like.

I've built a business off of writing: https://lsathacks.com/explanations/

I got started by writing a travel blog during a yearlong trip. I posted each entry to Facebook. When an entry got a lot of comments/views, I could tell it was better. I also got confidence that I was writing well.

As I kept writing, I always made sure to show my work. And I found that reading aloud helped me find awkwards parts.

Finally, I got started during a time when I was reading lots of blogs and novels. Good reading will help your writing.

That's about it. Practice, tempered by feedback and observing the work of others.

The problem doing that with technical writing is that your audience isn't going to be judging you on your writing skills, they'll be judging you on the technical content. OP isn't worried about their technical content, they're worried about their writing skills. The technical audience is going to be affected by writing skills (it'll affect how well points are made, etc), but they aren't going to give feedback on that part. "Just ship it" doesn't work with soft skills.

> Just ship it" doesn't work with soft skills.

I disagree! Maybe the relationship is less direct but practicing skills like writing, speaking and networking is one of the best ways to improve (reading about sick skills is another)

They don't have to start with technical writing. I didn't. I wrote a travel blog and shared it with my friends on facebook.

That transferred directly to my later technical writing.

You can also do technical writing, share that with a few technical friends, and get feedback.

I don't think any of my comment was about doing technical writing immediately though.

> Pay attention to what is popular, and what isn't

So poorly written, navel gazing, clickbait titled, troll bait articles about how X tech sucks and we used Y and here's what happened next™ posted on Medium?

I'd rather not blog at all if what's popular on HN is our goal :-)

This is the Internet. Simply write something, others will be quick to correct your grammar and spelling mistakes.

Wait a month or so and then read it. You will see your own writing with fresh eyes.

Side note: not every reviewer is a good one.

I used fiverr.com to proofread my CV, I think you could also ask them to check your blog posts.

I used to have my silly micro-blog posts reviewed by a respected peer, but it kind of defeated the purpose of cracking me out of my shell. Sometimes diving into the deep end works for the better.

If you hang out in some IRC (or whatever) channels which are related to the topic at hand, you can ask the people over there.

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