Writing About Writing

Coding Doesn't Have To Involve Coding

Ever since launching this blog, I've been spending a lot of time writing and not as much time coding. I've felt a little bad about that, because I genuinely enjoy working with code when focusing on an interesting feature. On the other hand, I have also been hesitant about posting on this site anything that doesn't feel connected to actual Python code.

Help Me, Help You

Although some of the content I've been working on will eventually land on this blog, it can sometimes feel daunting to write things down instead of spending time on my code.

However, today I came across a post by Tushar Sadhwani on his blog titled Why YOU should write a blog.

Wait, Tushar, are you talking to me?

That's great! Thank you!

In his post, he notes that there will likely come a time when you may need some information in the future, and writing things down now helps out your future-self tremendously. Additionally, chances are, if it is useful to you now, it may also be helpful to others.

It's a double whammy!

You're helping yourself, and any potential newcomers who need just that extra nudge to carry on with their own journey.

Win, win!

This comes as great encouragement, especially for someone like myself who is relatively new to both development and blogging. I know I don't have all the answers, but what I do have will definitely help me in the future when I'm trying to remember how exactly I went about solving a particular problem.

And if this helps someone else out there, either now or in the future, well, I am more than honored to pass on some of these lessons learned.

But Also

The encouragement is greatly appreciated for the type of content I want to produce on this blog, but it also got me thinking about why I have been hesitant to write about topics not directly tied to coding or Python development.

The reality is, this is my blog, so I can technically write about anything I want.

But on the other hand, I do want it to remain topical enough so as not to mislead any potential readers.

So what should I do with these tangential subjects?

Writing Is More Than Writing

As I mentioned at the top, I've been spending a lot of time writing, and a lot of that is directly tied to my experience building this site (more to come on that front).

But as I've been writing about these technical subjects, I've also reaffirmed something that has been with me for most of my life.

I actually like writing. And it also comes with a few benefits.

Namely, writing involves framing formless ideas into coherent and tangible thoughts. These thoughts are then further refined in the process of writing (and editing), to the point where competence and coherence begin to coalesce.

This has actually been a very good skill to have in many different disciplines, including coding.

In that sense, writing is more than just writing.

It helps with learning and retention. It allows you to focus and leads to better thinking and communicating.

All those things are very useful when coding.

Python (And Other Things) By Night

I suppose what that means is that I might make room for other thoughts on my blog. By honing in on my writing about any given topic, I am indirectly helping my future content. I want it to be better, more accessible, and maybe even fun to read.

So, if you're here for the Python, stand by, there's more on the way. Now, pardon me as I try to come up with an appropriate "tag" for these kinds of posts.