Why should developers write? 3 reasons and 3 common blocks
开发者为什么要写？ 3个原因和3个共同点

All developers create code, but only some write. Yet, writing helps expand career opportunities, develop professional skills, and share your ideas and knowledge within the community at large.
所有开发人员都会创建代码，但只有部分开发人员会编写代码。然而，写作有助于扩大职业机会、发展专业技能以及在整个社区内分享您的想法和知识。

Still, despite these benefits, many struggle to take the first step: perhaps it’s difficult to choose a concept, deal with the potential for negative feedback, or there is a tendency to procrastinate.
尽管如此，尽管有这些好处，许多人仍难以迈出第一步：也许很难选择一个概念，难以处理潜在的负面反馈，或者有拖延的倾向。

In this article, we’ll look at 3 reasons that make breaking through any of these obstacles to publish your writing worth the effort, and we’ll look at 3 potential blockers and how to overcome them.
在本文中，我们将探讨 3 个理由，说明克服这些障碍以发表您的作品值得付出努力，我们还将探讨 3 个潜在的障碍以及如何克服它们。

Then, in the next post of this series, we’ll share actionable items for those ready to take the next step, but first, we need to circle back to a critical question:
然后，在本系列的下一篇文章中，我们将为那些准备好采取下一步行动的人分享可操作的项目，但首先，我们需要回到一个关键问题：

Why is it valuable to write technical articles?
为什么写技术文章很有价值？

Let’s tackle 3 reasons that writing a technical article/post is worth your time in the first place.
让我们首先解决 3 个值得您花时间撰写技术文章/帖子的原因。

Reason 1: Published articles can expand your work portfolio and expand your career opportunities
理由一：发表文章可以拓展你的工作组合，拓展你的职业机会

First of all, the presence of published articles are a clear sign that a developer is committed to professional self-improvement.
首先，发表文章的存在是开发人员致力于专业自我提高的明确标志。

Employers can quickly recognize that a developer is dedicated to their profession at a level that goes beyond just “a job”. All of this is naturally attractive to companies who are hiring.
雇主可以很快认识到开发人员对自己职业的奉献程度超出了“工作”的范围。所有这些对于正在招聘的公司来说自然具有吸引力。

Next, writing gives employers the ability to analyze something beyond just your technical skills: your writing abilities.
其次，写作使雇主能够分析你的技术技能之外的东西：你的写作能力。

This is important because writing and composition skills often come with a high level of communication skills, and many employers highly appreciate this. In the book Getting Real from 37signals, they shared the following:
这很重要，因为写作和作文技能通常伴随着高水平的沟通技巧，许多雇主都高度赞赏这一点。在《Getting Real from 37signals》一书中，他们分享了以下内容：

If you are trying to decide between a few people to fill a position, always hire the better writer.
如果你想在几个人之间做出决定来填补一个职位，一定要聘请更好的作家。

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But what about those who are already employed?
但那些已经就业的人呢？

This brings us to a third point: in many cases, managers or team leads will consider the publication of articles as an additional positive factor for promotion.
这就引出了第三点：在很多情况下，经理或团队负责人会将发表文章视为晋升的额外积极因素。

And, if you want to change your job, having some publications under your belt could make you more well-known as a specialist, and open new job opportunities to you.
而且，如果您想换工作，发表一些出版物可以让您作为专家更加出名，并为您带来新的工作机会。

So, if you want to improve your career in general, beginning your writing practice is a great first step.
因此，如果您想总体上改善您的职业生涯，开始写作练习是很好的第一步。

Reason 2: When you write about something, you investigate the topic deeper.
原因2：当你写某件事时，你会更深入地研究这个主题。

One of the biggest challenges when writing a technical article is making the text as clear as possible for a range of readers, all of whom come with different backgrounds and stores of knowledge.
撰写技术文章时最大的挑战之一是让文本尽可能地为不同的读者提供清晰的理解，所有这些读者都有不同的背景和知识储备。

Facilitating a satisfactory level of clarity is only really possible when you possess a sufficiently deep understanding about your topic of choice. As Dr. Micheal A. Covington writes in How to Write More Clearly, Think More Clearly, and Learn Complex Material More Easily:
只有当您对所选主题有足够深入的了解时，才有可能达到令人满意的清晰度。正如迈克尔·A·卡温顿 (Micheal A. Covington) 博士在《如何更清晰地写作、更清晰地思考、更轻松地学习复杂材料》中所写：

Clear writing leads to clear thinking. You don’t know what you know until you try to express it.
清晰的写作带来清晰的思维。在你尝试表达之前，你不知道自己知道什么。

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To that end, before writing an article, we must research the relevant material, find existing literature or similar articles, and in some cases, we must write code to provide a clear practical example for readers—and all this involves diving deeper into the subject, and thus, it invites an increase of our own understanding of the topic.
为此，在写文章之前，我们必须研究相关材料，查找现有文献或类似文章，在某些情况下，我们必须编写代码为读者提供清晰的实际示例——所有这些都涉及更深入地研究主题，因此，它会增加我们对这个主题的理解。

One more thing: don’t be afraid to write articles on topics that you don’t understand at a deep level if you have a strong desire to do so. The big thing here is to spend time conducting a thorough, detailed study during the preparatory stage in order to explain difficult things to readers (and to yourself) in a comprehensive way.
还有一件事：如果你有强烈的愿望，不要害怕写关于你不深入理解的主题的文章。这里最重要的是在准备阶段花时间进行彻底、详细的研究，以便向读者（和你自己）全面地解释困难的事情。

Writing is an opportunity to clarify your understanding and teach yourself further.
写作是一个澄清你的理解并进一步自学的机会。

It’s helpful to keep in mind that creating a technical article is essentially a process of teaching the readers, and, as a Latin proverb states, “In teaching others, we teach ourselves”.
请记住，创建技术文章本质上是一个教导读者的过程，正如拉丁谚语所说，“在教导他人时，我们也在教导自己”。

Reason 3: Publishing articles allows you to be involved with and further develop the software engineering community
理由三：发表文章可以让你参与并进一步发展软件工程社区

Working in software engineering, we’re constantly learning in order to stay up to date with new technologies.
在软件工程领域工作，我们不断学习，以便跟上新技术的发展。

But this process often exists outside of any career demands: many of us, in our free time, work on our own projects, read technical articles, discuss technical questions with each other …or argue about them.
但这个过程通常存在于任何职业需求之外：我们中的许多人在空闲时间从事自己的项目、阅读技术文章、相互讨论技术问题……或争论这些问题。

All of these things contribute in one way or another to the development of the overall industry ecosystem, and writing articles is yet another way we can enrich our involvement in the software engineering community, and to further develop it.
所有这些事情都以某种方式促进整个行业生态系统的发展，而撰写文章是我们丰富我们对软件工程社区的参与并进一步发展它的另一种方式。

How, exactly? Publishing articles allows us to share important (or even unique) ideas about development, design, and business.
究竟如何？发表文章使我们能够分享有关开发、设计和业务的重要（甚至独特）想法。

A good article can expand a reader’s knowledge on a topic in just fifteen minutes! And your writing can be especially valuable if it concerns a topic that has generally been poorly covered otherwise.
一篇好文章可以在短短十五分钟内扩展读者对某个主题的知识！如果你的文章所涉及的主题通常很少被提及，那么你的文章就会特别有价值。

Additionally, new approaches and ideas often truly take hold as the result of writing.
此外，新的方法和想法往往会通过写作而真正扎根。

There are actually so many more benefits to consider, and at some level this is going to be an individual process of discovery. Still, once you’ve made the decision that you want to do this, that’s half the battle won.
实际上还有很多好处需要考虑，在某种程度上，这将是一个单独的发现过程。不过，一旦你决定这样做，那就已经成功了一半。

The other half of is cracking your first article, so up next, let’s look at some common blockers that aspiring authors in our field often face—and how to solve them.
另一半是破解你的第一篇文章，所以接下来，让我们看看我们领域有抱负的作者经常面临的一些常见障碍 - 以及如何解决它们。

Blocker 1: I don’t know what to write about!
阻碍1：我不知道该写什么！

Finding a topic to write about is usually the most difficult challenge we face, and this one usually rears its ugly head right at the beginning of the process.
找到一个可写的主题通常是我们面临的最困难的挑战，而这个挑战通常在这个过程的一开始就露出了丑陋的头。

So, what to write about? Let’s try to find a way to break the ice by drawing an analogy with the technical side of our work.
那么，该写什么呢？让我们尝试通过与我们工作的技术方面进行类比来找到打破僵局的方法。

Try to remember the last time when you had some challenge on the job, like implementing a complex feature. Did you research the problem, and did uncovering new information about it help? For instance, were there other people who had already struggled to do the same thing you were trying?
试着回想一下你上次在工作中遇到挑战的时候，比如实现一个复杂的功能。您是否研究了该问题？发现有关该问题的新信息是否有帮助？例如，是否有其他人已经在努力做你正在尝试的同样的事情？

In fact, this experience can be a good starting point for a new article! You can describe the journey that saw you overcoming obstacles and finding the ultimate solution. You could also write about the technologies and tools you used to solve your specific problem (just make sure you don’t violate any NDA rules).
事实上，这种经历可以成为新文章的良好起点！您可以描述您克服障碍并找到最终解决方案的旅程。您还可以写下用于解决特定问题的技术和工具（只需确保不违反任何 NDA 规则）。

It doesn’t necessarily matter if a topic has been covered because your experience hasn’t been. Practical studies and experiences can often be just as valuable (or more valuable) than documentation.
某个主题是否被涵盖并不一定重要，因为你的经验还没有被涵盖。实践研究和经验通常与文档一样有价值（或更有价值）。

Or, let’s look at another jumping-off point: sometimes article ideas can spring to life as the result of some fiery discussions with your colleagues or fellow developers.
或者，让我们看看另一个起点：有时，文章的想法可以通过与同事或其他开发人员进行激烈讨论而得以实现。

If a hot topic sufficiently draws your interest, this means that it could easily be relevant to other people as well. With a point of view supported by arguments, evidence, or experiments, you can create an article based on both your own beliefs and facts.
如果一个热门话题足以引起您的兴趣，这意味着它也很容易与其他人相关。通过论据、证据或实验支持的观点，您可以根据自己的信念和事实撰写文章。

Who knows? Articles and posts can be less ephemeral than social media, and it may be your idea that sticks around and sets off the industry in a new direction.
谁知道？文章和帖子可能不像社交媒体那样短暂，你的想法可能会持续存在并引领行业走向新的方向。

If nothing comes to mind after reading the above, try making a little reminder to yourself: the next time you have a difficult challenge at work, or an interesting discussion with colleagues who have different points of view, pay attention to this! Make notes and reflect upon the discussion, as this could be the genesis of your next article.
如果读完以上内容后没有什么反应，试着给自己做一个小小的提醒：下次当你在工作中遇到困难的挑战，或者与不同观点的同事进行有趣的讨论时，请注意这一点！做笔记并反思讨论，因为这可能是您下一篇文章的起源。

Identifying topics for article creation is a skill that can be honed, but the first step is to shift your mindset into a mode of openness so that when an opportunity presents itself, you’ll be able to recognize it for what it is.
确定文章创作主题是一项可以磨练的技能，但第一步是将你的心态转变为开放的模式，这样当机会出现时，你就能认清它的本质。

Blocker 2: I’m afraid of negative feedback (or a lack of exposure)
障碍 2：我害怕负面反馈（或缺乏曝光度）

This is just a fact: your first article will almost certainly be worse than your tenth article—and this is true for just about any other skill you’d practice in life. (Of course, there’s also the chance that even your first post will be something popular and valuable to the community!)
这只是一个事实：你的第一篇文章几乎肯定会比你的第十篇文章更糟糕——对于你在生活中练习的几乎任何其他技能来说都是如此。 （当然，即使您的第一篇文章也有可能成为社区中受欢迎且有价值的内容！）

In any case, each new article that you work on allows you to gain useful writing experience, expand your portfolio, and contribute to the community.
无论如何，您撰写的每一篇新文章都可以让您获得有用的写作经验、扩展您的作品集并为社区做出贡献。

Seriously, there’s no need to worry if your first article will become popular immediately—this mentality can be a huge mental blocker and prevent you from making progress.
说真的，没有必要担心你的第一篇文章是否会立即流行——这种心态可能会成为一个巨大的精神障碍，阻碍你取得进步。

Here are also a few ways how you can increase the amount of exposure and feedback for your article:
您还可以通过以下几种方法来增加文章的曝光度和反馈量：

• For publishing, try to find a platform with a large and friendly community of developers, for example, dev.to or medium.com
  对于发布，尝试找到一个拥有大型且友好的开发人员社区的平台，例如 dev.to 或medium.com
• Don’t hesitate to share your article on social media with your followers
  不要犹豫，在社交媒体上与您的关注者分享您的文章
• Ask people whose opinions you value if they can read your article. Listen to their feedback to learn from it
  询问您重视其意见的人是否可以阅读您的文章。倾听他们的反馈并从中学习
• Seek out relevant newsletters: depending on your topic, there are many widely distributed email newsletters; and they often accept submissions
  寻找相关的时事通讯：根据您的主题，有许多广泛分发的电子邮件时事通讯；他们经常接受意见书

Don’t fear negative feedback—it’s good! A bit of criticism can allow you to improve the material or learn something new.
不要害怕负面反馈——这很好！一点批评可以让你改进材料或学到新东西。

A final note: it pays to keep in mind that sometimes negative feedback may not consist of fair criticism, but of aggressive comments. Think about the personal value of entertaining such commentary. Will reflecting on it actually help you improve? Our advice: don’t take it personally.
最后一点：请记住，有时负面反馈可能不是公平的批评，而是攻击性的评论。想想接受此类评论的个人价值。反思真的能帮助你进步吗？我们的建议是：不要认为这是针对你个人的。

Blocker 3: I have problems with procrastination, and my attempts to write something usually end without results.
障碍3：我有拖延症，我尝试写一些东西通常会毫无结果。

If you want to write but just find that you procrastinate or put off the task endlessly, that can be a sign that because your brain feels the task is not so easy, enjoyable, or that you have a lack of comprehension surrounding the topic.
如果你想写作，但发现你无休止地拖延或拖延任务，这可能表明你的大脑觉得任务不那么容易、不那么有趣，或者你对这个主题缺乏理解。

Here’s some advice to fix this:
以下是解决此问题的一些建议：

• Try to take small steps–don’t set yourself the overwhelming task of writing everything at once. For instance, start with an article outline: define the purpose of the article and its main ideas. This can be more of a rough sketch, or a skeleton. Then, begin to fill in the structure and then expand on each point.
  尝试采取小步骤——不要给自己设定一次性写下所有内容的艰巨任务。例如，从文章大纲开始：定义文章的目的及其主要思想。这可能更像是一个粗略的草图，或者一个骨架。然后，开始填充结构，然后对每个点进行扩展。
• Don’t complicate your task by trying to write the perfect text right away. Write the first version of your draft first; then re-read it, correct any mistakes, cut out unnecessary things, and edit what you didn’t like. Repeat this several times until the text is easy and pleasant to read.
  不要试图立即写出完美的文本，从而使您的任务复杂化。首先写草稿的第一个版本；然后重新阅读，纠正错误，删除不必要的内容，并编辑您不喜欢的内容。重复此操作几次，直到文本易于阅读。
• Promise yourself a pleasant reward when you finish your article! Give yourself praise every time you take up the keyboard to write another piece of text: this means you’ve chosen to improve your skills and invest in yourself–and that’s a good thing!
  当你完成文章时，向自己承诺一个愉快的奖励！每次你拿起键盘写下一段文字时，都要给自己表扬一下：这意味着你选择提高自己的技能并投资自己——这是一件好事！

Writing is a skill like any other, and there are many ways it can go for you: it can become a hobby, provide numerous opportunities for yourself, and can even inspire the future.
写作和其他技能一样，是一种技能，它可以有很多用途：它可以成为一种爱好，为自己提供大量机会，甚至可以激励未来。

And here’s the most important piece of advice: don’t doubt yourself.
这是最重要的建议：不要怀疑自己。

Behind the author of every excellent piece of text is the story of someone who also began down this path at one time or another. Stay tuned for our next article, where we’ll keep the wheels rolling!
每一篇优秀文章的作者背后都有一个曾经也曾走上这条道路的人的故事。请继续关注我们的下一篇文章，我们将继续前进！

At Evil Martians, we transform growth-stage startups into unicorns, build developer tools, and create open source products. If you’re ready to engage warp drive, give us a shout!
在 Evil Martians，我们将成长阶段的初创公司转变为独角兽，构建开发人员工具并创建开源产品。如果您准备好使用曲速引擎，请告诉我们！