Write about your code workshop

Medium Day 2025: Do you write code? Let's share your experience. Writing about code isn’t just for experts. It's a way to share your knowledge, strengthen your skills, and advance your career. But how to overcome that blank page? In this workshop, I’ll show you the process I developed to turn coding experiences into stories. Participants will brainstorm ideas for their next story and create an outline. Then, we will explore tools, tips, and tricks for bringing those outlines to life. After half an hour, you’ll leave with an outline in hand and ideas for where to take it.

View workshop at https://events.zoom.us/ejl/Av7REBItl8l_9abuYg_Iyhrgx4cwt8FEGYhzPou4dCMBDIhOV8ZQ~A1ry8qEQSCSliQsV-73uw15Qq72bWO5Ab-v7sko1tyvhi9oD7m-DjBhWVZKvA9rU3Qm-GTugYa_p57lR7rvJ-3PEm/ec4Zfy2JRdiawbhi2vqnGQ/video/GeqpiQonTJ6DVUmrtURvTA

Transcript

1. preencoded.png Writing About Coding: Share Your Developer Journey Dr. Danielle Honigstein Medium Day 2025
2. preencoded.png Who Am I? • PhD in Applied Physics • Professional programmer • Experienced lecturer & high school teacher • Author of over 70 coding stories published on Medium Please prepare paper+pen or document
3. preencoded.png Why are you here? In the chat Why do you want to write about code? Chat icon by pixel perfect from flaticon
4. preencoded.png Why Write About Your Coding Experience? Help Others Share solutions to problems others might face, saving them time and frustration Clarify Your Thinking Teaching forces you to understand concepts deeply enough to explain them clearly Future Reference Create your own searchable knowledge base for when you need to remember how you solved something Career Development Demonstrate expertise and build your professional reputation Networking Connect with like-minded developers and potential collaborators Your Voice Has Value Your unique perspective and experience matter to the community Plus, it's fun!
5. preencoded.png But what to write about? What interests you? Pro Tip: If you've explained something to a colleague more than once, it's probably worth writing about! In the chat The name of the last project that interested you (not the title of an article!)
6. preencoded.png Content That Resonates What interested you during the project? Tool Recommendations Reviews of your favorite development tools, explaining why they boost your productivity Tips & Tricks Time-saving shortcuts, workflows, or techniques that changed how you code Career Insights Lessons learned during interviews, promotions, or team transitions Tutorial Any tricky algorithm or difficult feature that challenged you A-ha moments These are inspiring and worth commemorating
7. preencoded.png Craft Your Article Title Example Formats: • "How I Built X with Y: Lessons Learned" • "5 Unexpected Challenges When Working With [Technology]" • "Why [Popular Approach] Failed For Us and What Worked Instead" Attention-Grabbing Elements: • Specific numbers ("7 Ways to...") • Personal experience ("What I Learned...") • Surprising insights ("The Unexpected Benefits of...") Image by fotografierende from Pixabay In the chat Based on our discussion and your recent project, write a potential article title. It doesn't need to be perfect!
8. preencoded.png Structuring Your Article: The Inverted Pyramid 1 1 Who? What? When? Why? How? 2 2 Supporting information, examples, personal story 3 3 Tail: conclusion, additional background, how to proceed ~200 words per section (not including code) Key Questions to Answer: • Why is this important to write? • Who should care? • What does this solve? • When should you use it? When did it happen? • How did I solve it? Based on the story "How journalists write so much, so fast (it's easy)" by Maya Sayvanova
9. preencoded.png First Paragraph Why is this important to write? Define the core challenge or revelation that motivated your story Who should care? Define your target audience How did I solve it? Outline your solution strategy and decision points On paper Take a moment to answer these questions for the article idea you shared earlier. In the chat Write a short answer to one of the questions above Pencil icon by freepik from flaticon
10. preencoded.png The rest of the article Body • Clear sections: code step, algorithm flow • What did you do and how? Summary • What is the take-away message? • Link to code or additional resources • Next steps On paper Write down bullet points or free writing - what should be in the body? What should be in the summary? What additional materials will you need (screenshots? GIFs? Videos?) In the chat Write one additional material that you will need
11. preencoded.png Congratulations! You have the outline for your next story! And now: how to make it shine
12. preencoded.png Making Your Code Shine Best Practices for Code Examples: • Code blocks in Medium • Document your code with clear comments • Explain why, not just what the code does Demo Demo
13. preencoded.png Making Your Code Shine Visual Support: • Include screenshots/GIFs of your application • Link to GitHub/GitLab repositories • Use diagrams for complex architecture - draw.io - Screen2Gif
14. preencoded.png More Tools, Tips and Tricks • Hemingway editor: Is your article easy to follow? • Images: • Pixabay, Unsplash,… • Your own • AI images • GIMP for editing • Wait before publishing - at least a few hours. • AI - can fix mistakes and complex sentences. Can also give ideas and feedback.
15. preencoded.png Next steps: Where to publish? • Your own page • See if there are publications you like and join them Keep Writing! It gets better and easier Image by Belinda Cave from Pixabay Questions?
16. preencoded.png Your voice has value! Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
17. preencoded.png Thank you