---
title: "Learn by writing"
date: 2003-06-22
author: "Richard MacManus"
categories:
  - name: "ReadWriteWeb"
    url: "/category/readwriteweb.md"
tags:
  - name: "2003"
    url: "/tag/2003.md"
---

# Learn by writing

[Mark Pilgrim](https://web.archive.org/web/20040109022634/http://waffle.wootest.net/iron/mark_pilgrim.php): “I take in a lot of raw data, synthesize it, and spit it back out in ways that many people can understand.”

[Mark Pilgrim](https://web.archive.org/web/20040109022634/http://diveintomark.org/) and [Neil Deakin](https://web.archive.org/web/20040109022634/http://www.xulplanet.com/ndeakin/aboutme.html) are two very smart web developers, but more importantly they both have the ability to document complex web technology in laymans language – so that [wannabes](https://web.archive.org/web/20040109022634/http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=wannabe) can learn it too. This is different to technical writing, which means documenting a piece of software for its [end users](https://web.archive.org/web/20040109022634/http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/e/end_user.html).

One of the best ways to learn something is to document it. The beauty of the read/write web is that it makes it easy to do this, and easy for everyone to contribute.

Revision 24/7/03: I struck out the sentence about technical writing, because tech writing as a discipline actually covers writing for both wannabes and end users – and many other types of audiences too.

*Originally published on ReadWriteWeb ([archived copy](https://web.archive.org/web/20020204040018/http://www.readwriteweb.com/2003/06/22.html#a55))*