The final panel of Write day moved the discussion from op-eds to technical writing, specifically technical books. The panel consisted of Alexis Goldstein, co-author of HTML5 and CSS3 for the Real World and author of Learning CSS3 Animations and Transitions, and Debra Williams-Cauley, an executive editor in the publishing industry, who attends conferences and other technical events to find new material and writers. Alexis and Debra talked to us about how to get into technical writing, and why you might want to do this kind of writing.

Alexis and Debra highlighted several reasons how you as a developer could benefit from getting into technical writing:

• Because you can do it better! Alexis said, “I read a lot of tech books and I’m like, I don’t know what are you saying? And I thought I could do it better.”
• Provide your own unique voice and express your opinions.
• Give back to the community.
• Make a name for yourself.
• Because you wont regret it!

Although Alexis is known for the tech books she’s written and Debra finds authors to write technical books, books aren’t the only technical materials you can write. And let’s face reality, books are long! You can also write blog posts, either for your own blog or for technical blogs such as Smashing Magazine, InformIT, and A List Apart.

Blog posts are a great way to get started doing technical writing. Debra recommended starting with blogs if you eventually want to get into writing books. Some topics to blog about include reflections on the learning process, bugs you’ve come across and how you’ve fixed them, tutorials on lesser-known languages and technologies, and updates on your progress on your coding projects. “Every time you spend more than five minutes fixing a bug, you should write about it,” advised our experts.

There are other ways to get into book writing if that’s the direction you’re looking to go into. Debra attends tech conferences to get information on topics for new books and find writers, so volunteering at a regional conference would be a great step. Being part of a community of female developers also helps. Alexis started with her first book because she heard about it on DevChix. Debra recommends tech reviewing manuscripts. Authors often have the opportunity to suggest the people they want to review their code and may ask for code reviewers on communities like DevChix. With so many reasons to write and plenty of ways to get started, there’s no reason not to get into tech writing.

Op-Ed and Argument Writing with The OpEd Project

Our seminar leaders from The OpEd Project, Chloe Angyal and Martha Southgate, taught us about writing and polishing op-eds as a way to share our expert knowledge with those who need to hear it.

Op-eds are rooted in print media and the name sounds fairly antiquated, but you’ve probably read them online without even realizing it. They’re still important—people who publish op-eds are often those who go on to speak more and contribute more knowledge to the public conversation. Op-eds are also used as a metric. If you check theopedproject.org homepage you’ll see recent percentages of op-eds written by men and women in the country’s most read and regarded papers.

If you’re not convinced that writing an op-ed piece is for you, Chloe said this several times: “The op-ed is a metaphor.” What is it a metaphor for? It’s a metaphor for an argument. The basis of any op-ed piece is an argument. Humans argue every day, programmers probably even more often. It’s a metaphor for participating in the public conversation and being involved in thought leadership and citizenship. Primarily, it’s a metaphor for mattering.

Now that you are convinced, here is a brief overview of the components of an op-ed. Keep in mind that, as Martha and Chloe repeated many times, this is not a formula. As Barbossa would say, it’s “more guidelines than actual rules.” You can find more information on theopedproject.org in the Resources section, along with information on hosting or participating in your own seminar.

The Lede

Another archaic term deriving from old print media—it’s “lead” but spelled differently so the typesetters didn’t confuse it with “lead” (as in the stuff that used to be in pencils and the stuff you don’t want in your paint). The lede is what gets your readers attention. Newspapers are full of words and stories competing for your attention and you have to convince readers to choose your piece to read. When you consider all the information on the internet, there’s even more competition. As Chloe put it, “No one owes you their attention. Grab it.”

An essential component of the lede in op-eds is the news hook. This is essential for getting your work in print—it needs to relate to something that’s going on in the news. Martha and Chloe taught us how to “hijack the news”:if there wasn’t something going on in the media that happens to relate perfectly to what you want to say.

The Argument

As we stated before, the op-ed is a metaphor for an argument, so if you’re writing an op-ed, you need to include an argument. This is the heart of why you’re writing the piece, and is normally presented clearly in a thesis statement. Of course, you will want to back your argument up with evidence. Evidence can come in many forms, including:

• Credible studies
• Data and statistics
• Personal experience (Don’t discount this! Emotional appeals can be very persuasive.)
• Quotes from experts
• General knowledge and logic
• Evidence from history

Generally, you’ll want around three different types of evidence, but that’s also just a guideline.

The “To Be Sure”

It doesn’t matter what you say: someone’s going to argue with you. Here’s your chance to nip their argument in the bud. It’s important to treat your dissenters with respect. If someone disagrees with you, there’s no way they’re going to listen to what you have to say if you are insulting or disrespectful.

Note: You don’t want to actually begin your To Be Sure with “To be sure…”

The Conclusion

The conclusion of your piece should point back to your argument. After highlighting all of your evidence, remind your readers of the point you’re trying to make. Then, end with a call to action. What do you want your readers to do with this new information? It can be as open-ended as thinking more about the issue and engaging in discussions or as specific as not saying a word or phrase or boycotting a product.

Now you have everything you need to write an op-ed or other argument. For more information on op-eds and submitting op-ed proposals to publications, visit theopedproject.org.

I can’t say how relieved I was that The OpEd Project leaders Chloe Angyal and Martha Southgate didn’t give us a blank page and ask us to free write. Before we’d even written more than five sentences we were armed with techniques for considering topics and opinions to present to the world. We see experts every day on NPR, writing books, and speaking at conferences, and Chloe and Martha gave us the tools and confidence to think of ourselves as experts, too.

Would you call yourself an expert? This might not be a term you feel comfortable using, but it’s an important one. It’s people who call themselves experts who are published and interviewed in television and radio. During the “Write” day of the conference, The OpEd Project leaders asked us all to call ourselves an expert in something and explain why. The “why” is essential: it lends credibility and provides evidence.

Our group contained a plethora of experts on various subjects, such as:

• Psychology of playing in a bar pool league
• Computer security
• European strategy games
• Planning and executing stunt weddings
• Evacuating hurricanes
• Getting people to contribute to Drupal software

Using the term “expert” to define ourselves was unfamiliar territory for many of us. The word carries a lot of weight. Chloe and Martha defined expert as “the go to person in the room.” The word “resource” could be defined the same way. “Resource” might seem like a more familiar and comfortable title, particularly for women, due to how we are socialized to defer to others. After practicing labeling ourselves as experts out loud, I think many of us will be more comfortable calling ourselves experts in the future.

Part of being an expert is understanding how your areas of expertise fit into the bigger picture. We often pigeonhole ourselves into one topic, but we learned strategies to broaden our reach. Each woman-written op-ed piece is a drop in the bucket of the OpEd Project, and increases the variety of voices in the conversations that shape our world.

As experts, when should we share our knowledge? The simple answer is this: share your expert knowledge when the value of your knowledge could be worth something to others. If you focus on others, the fears you may have regarding yourself, like fears of embarrassment or responses from internet trolls, will fade into the background. Ask yourself: How can I serve others with my knowledge and expertise? When you have an answer, you have something to share.

Ask yourself: How can I serve others with my knowledge and expertise?
When you have an answer, you have something to share.