I write because I like to communicate in all its myriad forms. (I talk too much, write too much, heck, since I spent a summer with some Italians, I even gesticulate too much!)

I've submitted my first attempt at an article to Steve. Do I expect that it will revolutionize anything important? No. But I did find that I was having to write the same posts over and over again to different people all asking about the same subject, and decided to take all my posts on that subject and turn them into an article. Hopefully, that will be more efficient than continuing to write the same posts over and over again.

Basically, by noticing what gets asked a lot, I deduced there is a "market" for that article. It's really nothing more than an expansion, clarification, and consolidation, of multiple posts on one subject.

Hopefully someone will find it helpful. Even if not, writing it helped me focus my own thoughts on the subject.

I keep trying to write fiction, but I find that I have a lot of great ideas for settings and scenes, but nothing that ties together into a narrative story. I'll keep weaving some of the threads, on the hopes that one of them, one day, will be a garment. Till then (if), I do enjoy putting words together.

For those who worry about writing something and having others (perceived to be more expert) tear it apart and point out all the wrongnesses in it: Actually, that might be a good way to learn, wouldn't it? Might be bruising if you've put too much of your ego on the line with it, but having others review and critique really is a good way to learn.

What if you post an article about concatenating and splitting strings, and three people write better solutions in the comments on the article? Well, you risked being "wrong", and you found three better ways to do something that might actually be useful. You learned! That's my take on it. Just don't tie up your ego in the thing, don't be crushed by criticism.

(And now it's time for me to wander off into the sunset, pontificating about meaningless things, convinced that my compulsive pedantry may have served a noble cause....... (trust me on this one, now that I'm started, if I don't forcibly restrain myself, I'll never stop).) 🙂