⚡ In a hurry? Skip straight to the rules ⚡

Don't Make the Same Mistake I Did

I have plenty of regrets, and one of them is not starting to write my own content years ago. Better late than never, as they say, but still.

I want to make sure you don't make the same mistake. Every week I see more people joining this amazing community, and it reminds me how excited I was when I first signed up back in 2018. (If you're curious how I ended up here, I wrote about it in my previous article.)

Back then, I thought writing was only for seasoned veterans. I couldn't have been more wrong. I know plenty of engineers with years of experience who still can't write a single technical article. Not because they have nothing to say, but because they never tried.

Time to Take the Leap

Trust me, you don't need decades of experience. You're fine.

Your first article will probably feel tricky, awkward and hard. Speaking from experience, though, it gets so much easier after that. And your first one will always be special, no matter how good or bad it turns out. You might cringe at it in a year or two, but that's a special kind of cringe. It's proof of how far you've come a long way since then.

Not Sure What to Write About?

You don't need a groundbreaking idea. Some of the best first articles are simple:

  • A bug that took you way too long to fix, and what finally solved it
  • Something you learned this week that you wish you'd known earlier
  • How you got into programming
  • A small project you built, even if nobody uses it
  • A concept that finally clicked for you, explained the way you wish someone had explained it to you

And so many other ideas that you can think of.

If it was interesting to you, it'll be interesting to someone else.

✍️ The Rules

Alright, I'm going to be your first reader.

👉 Write your first article on DEV. Any topic, any length. Short is perfectly fine.
👉 Drop the link in the comments.
👉 Optional: tell me what finally made you hit "Publish".

I'll read EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM and give you honest, thorough feedback. I promise! 🤝 I always deliver whatever I promise.

One small request: write it yourself. Use AI to check your grammar if you like, but the voice and the story should be yours. That's what makes a first article worth reading.

Already a Writer? You're Invited Too

If you've been writing for a while, drop a link to your very first article in the comments, or share one piece of advice you wish someone had given you before you published it. Nothing calms first-time nerves like seeing that everyone started somewhere.

The Hall of Fame Is Waiting

A few weeks ago, I asked you to share the article you're most proud of, and it turned into the DEV Hall of Fame: 65 authors, 65 masterpieces. If you start now, your work could earn a spot when I put together the next volume.

Let's get the journey started! 🚀

Let's stay connected!