One Year of Writing: A Look Back and a Look Forward
Tags: writing
Published: 2022-12-21 09:58:04

It was the 18th of October 2021, and I published [my first article](https://dev.to/itsrakesh/how-to-compile-different-languages-source-code-files-a7g) on dev.to. I literally have no idea how to write a technical article then. But I kept doing it learning from other tech writers. Since then, I had an amazing experience with writing. In this article, I'm going to share my journey, how writing helped me, tips to help you get started writing, and more.

## Let's get started

## How it Started - Inspiration & Motivation

![well well well gif](https://i.imgur.com/Vwpb9vu.gif)

To be honest, the reason why I got into writing is due to both influence and my own reasons. I wanted to start writing to establish an online presence and hone my skills. And then there were some great people in tech who always advised that every developer should write. So, I'm like, "Why don't I give it a try?". That's the best decision in my life.

What motivated me to keep writing? - Since that day, I've challenged myself to write an article every week (or 4 per month). I used to get zero reactions and maybe 10-20 views at first, but I didn't mind because I was writing for myself. Then, thanks to dev.to 🙏, they helped me by sharing my articles on their social media platforms. People gradually began to enjoy my articles, which kept me motivated.

> Whatever inspired me to begin writing, I have no regrets!

## Opportunities I Got Along the Way

Writing is an endless journey. The benefits accrue along the way, rather than at the end (actually there is no end). One thing to remember is that you should never expect anything in return for your contribution. Be happy with whatever you receive. Spoiler alert: There will always be potential benefits.

Here are some great opportunities I got:

- Author at freeCodeCamp - Millions of people read the articles on freeCodeCamp. I am honored to be able to contribute to the [freeCodeCamp publication](https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/). I write whenever I have time.
Read my articles: [freecodecamp.org/news/author/rakesh](https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/author/rakesh)
- Creator at Aviyel - [Aviyel](https://aviyel.com/) supports the growth of Open Source communities. I've contributed to a few Open Source projects by writing articles.
Read them [here](https://aviyel.com/search?term=itsrakesh&root=blog).
- Freelance opportunities - Received a lot of long-term freelance writing opportunities from Ed-Tech startups and various companies.
Read them [here](https://blog.itsrakesh.co/external-articles).
- Collaborations - So far, I've received more than ten paid collaboration offers.

> “Its the not the destination, it’s the journey.”

## Achievements

- Got nominated for Noonies awards - The Noonies are HackerNoon's annual tech awards. This year (2022), I received nominations in three categories for the first time: 1) [HACKERNOON CONTRIBUTOR OF THE YEAR- MONGODB](https://www.noonies.tech/2022/programming/2022-hackernoon-contributor-of-the-year-mongodb), 2) [HACKERNOON CONTRIBUTOR OF THE YEAR- API](https://www.noonies.tech/2022/programming/2022-hackernoon-contributor-of-the-year-api) and 3) [NO NO NO NODEJS](https://www.noonies.tech/2022/programming/2022-no-no-no-nodejs). Unfortunately, I did not win 😔. But being nominated and finishing second in two categories was a huge accomplishment for me.
- Became one of the [top contributors](https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/freecodecamp-2022-top-contributors/) in freeCodeCamp News publication.

![top contributor](https://i.imgur.com/zC36Num.png)

- Few articles got featured on [Daily.dev](https://daily.dev/)

![articles featured on daily.dev](https://i.imgur.com/eFQ4PsS.png)


## My Top 10 Articles

These are the top 10 articles loved by my readers.

1. [Web design principles with examples](https://dev.to/itsrakesh/web-design-principles-1p2k)
2. [Best productivity tools for web developers](https://dev.to/itsrakesh/best-productivity-tools-for-web-developers-1e7g)
3. [How I built my portfolio website](https://dev.to/itsrakesh/how-i-built-my-portfolio-website-hl5)
4. [Auto-generate your NodeJs app + Admin-UI 😳](https://dev.to/itsrakesh/auto-generate-your-nodejs-app-admin-ui-4880)
5. [Web 2.0 architecture Vs Web 3.0 architecture](https://dev.to/itsrakesh/web-20-architecture-vs-web-30-architecture-2ke9)
6. [8 best opensource projects you should try out](https://dev.to/itsrakesh/8-best-opensource-projects-you-should-try-out-1p1j)
7. [[PART 2] 8 best open source projects you should try out](https://dev.to/itsrakesh/part-2-8-best-open-source-projects-you-should-try-out-1ea)
8. [Let’s learn, build and sell an API](https://dev.to/itsrakesh/lets-learn-build-and-sell-an-api-32h0)
9. [Most active Developer Communities you should join in 2022](https://dev.to/itsrakesh/most-active-developer-communities-you-should-join-in-2022-1cl)
10. [Let’s build and deploy a full stack MERN web application](https://dev.to/itsrakesh/lets-build-and-deploy-a-full-stack-mern-web-application-1p5)

## Stats

Do you like numbers? I got you!

- Total words were written - 89,180
- Views (all platforms combined) - 265,453

## My Tips

- Everyone should write, no matter what their background is. 
- Don't worry about grammar or fancy words; devs don't mind as long as the meaning is clear. Honestly, with the tools like _Quillbot_ and _Grammarly_ this won't be a problem for you.
- I didn't wait for the perfect moment to begin writing. 
- No one will criticize you, and everyone is free to express their views.
- Think about creating value over gaining views and likes.
- Quality > Quantity

## Whom to follow

Follow the right people. There will be a lot of clickbait people copying top posts. These people may have thousands of followers, but that does not make them valuable.

Some people I recommend following to be a better writer:

- [@getpaidwrite](https://twitter.com/getpaidwrite) - Username might seem clickbaity 😜, but content is outstanding.
- [@david_perell](https://twitter.com/david_perell)
- [@rakesh_at_tweet](https://twitter.com/rakesh_at_tweet) - I also share my thoughts and opinions about writing.

Some great writers in tech:

- [Victoria Lo](https://twitter.com/lo_victoria2666)
- [Tapas Adhikary](https://twitter.com/tapasadhikary)

## What's next?

In just one year, I've accomplished a lot. I'm looking forward to all of the opportunities that will come my way in the future. As you are aware, writing is an endless journey, and I intend to continue writing for as long as I am able. I've been not able to write much for the last few months due to offline college for the first time, now I set my priorities and will try to be consistent again.

## A Big Thank You

None of this is possible without your constant support 🙏. It's because of you I never gave up. It's you that made all my efforts worth it.

![thank you](https://i.imgur.com/UgtdgNd.png)