I thought I had my programming creative process all figured out.

I learned how to effectively pair with others, draw my ideas on paper, and quickly prototype them. I enjoyed it, thinking there isn’t that much left to refine. But when I took my WordPress contributions beyond just code and started writing technical tutorials, I realized I was missing out!

Writing is actually among the most powerful tools a software developer can use.

Realize the gaps in your knowledge

The paper has a way of making any logical leaps apparent.

Writing my very first draft was very humbling. I started really confident about my knowledge and quickly identified dozens of small gaps in it. Filling them in infused my writing with the clarity and detail it previously lacked.

Pinpoint the overly complex parts of the software

The most confusing parts of my drafts indicated the code asking to be simplified.

There were concepts I understood well and still couldn’t explain them clearly. How could I expect the reader to learn with ease? My worst paragraphs sparked great discussions and simplifications that are more easily documented. 

Identify the missing features

Writing revealed WordPress limitations in places I wasn’t aware of.

For example, showing a list of posts with 25 items per page sounds basic, but I found it’s nearly impossible to do with JavaScript. Well, realizing a problem is the first step to fixing it.

I no longer avoid writing; I cherish it. It tells me when to improve my understanding and when to improve the software I am working with.