My Twitter was full of tweets stating they received an invitation for Hashnode Bootcamp while I was looking for ways to grow as a technical writer!

It was on 28th April 2023 that I registered for Hashnode Bootcamp and eagerly awaited the invite, but it didn't turn out until the next day, which made me anxious.

So finally, the invite popped up at 9 pm on 30th Ap,ril 2023, ending all the disappointment and pumping in great energy.

Hashnode Bootcamp Opening

The Bootcamp started with a bright smile by Dani Passos and a warm welcome informing the attendees about Bootcamp and the exclusive features of the Hashnode Pro.

Here's a Brief about Hashnode Pro

Hashnode Pro is designed to enhance writing with the power of AI. It is meant to supercharge the blogging experience of all writers and help beginners kickstart writing.

• Helps ideate

• Give words to vision

• Prepare flow

• Write speedily

• Rephrasers to polish sentences and paras

• Instant Title generation with SEO optimisation

• AI Chatbot to help writers craft easily

• Blog with improved SEO

Other notable features protect writers from distraction and aid them in writing in a focused mode. Mentioned a few features, there are more to write about, but this can be done most efficiently after using.

Try a 3-day free trial of Hashnode Pro here: https://hashnode.com/settings/pro.

Onto Bootcamp sessions......

Session 1 by Ankur Tyagi (Developer, Mentor, Writer, Speaker, DevRel )

The Importance of Writing as a Developer

Ankur’s session was a personalised experience with his inspirational narrative! Connecting with his growth and deriving the motive to write daily was lively.

Ankur often said a line answering several questions from the audience like

When to write?

How to write consistently?

What to write?

Ankur said “ Write when Motivation stikes.”

Going to flow it for sure!

Key Learnings from the session are :

Purpose of Technical Writing

Helping bridge the gap between teachings, learnings and new findings. Tech is all about learning new technologies faster and unlearning them even faster.

Documentation is the ultimate option to preserve the previous learnings; hence, do write whenever motivation strikes.

Overcoming Fears of Writing

"There are already so many blogs on a specific topic; why should I write? Will someone read it?"

This has been haunting almost all of us, but it's like we all are unique, and so are our ideas and learnings. So pen down and write your learnings, and let it be public; if not helpful for others might be a memory for you to look back on after a while and retrospect your written piece.

"I write blogs regularly but still not getting reach!!"

Make your work visible; try cross-posting on different writing platforms. Twitter and Linkedin are always there to help expand reach.

All-in-all, catalyse your energy and redirect it in the pathway of your vision for yourself five years from now.

“What to write ?”

Phones have notepads, so use them wisely, write all the ideas that pop into your mind and around you, and give those ideas words when motivation strikes.

Session 2 by Swapna Kumar Panda(Tech Writer, Educator )

Leveraging Technical Writing to Land Opportunities and Boost Your Developer Career

Swapna started his session with a beautiful purple ppt (it captivated my eyes, so I couldn’t resist mentioning here). The discussion began with answering why developers need to dwell in writing.

Like the three pillars of democracy, the product has three pillars. Application of products isn’t possible without a document because every new user must be learnt for best results.

There are various types of writing, ranging from Documents to Blogs, white papers and many more. The way of doing these can be unique and differ from person to person. Formats can be :

• Textual

• Audio

• Video

• Infographic

Developers are first-hand problem-solvers. So to take solutions to future documents are needed alarmingly. Writing isn’t monotonous and time-waste; it generates money and improves knowledge.

How to make money writing :

Call for collaborations

Lookout for sponsorship

Ghostwriting

Full-time writing opportunities

The best place to begin writing can be Twitter. This can be the best portfolio one can have. It is open to n number of people and speaks a lot about one’s writing style. Work on basics, avoid mistakes, improve your technical knowledge and bang on.

Key takeaway: Add humour to your write-up to make your writing engaging!

Day 1 was insightful and enriching, and I look forward to Day 2 learning more. Follow to get insights from Day2 right here; I also notify on Twitter you can follow there also: Aditi Dwivedi.

Seeya!