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Some companies actually forbid you to write articles.
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Writing articles is hard work. When the article seems to go unnoticed once it posted does not make it any easier. I guess posting a message in the lounge about it would be a good way to get it noticed, but then the lounge would soon get filled with "New article" posts.
Within you lies the power for good - Use it!
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They do appear on the home page - but how many regulars go there, except on Monday for the survey, and to check the moderation queue?
It would help if some of the QA posters would use the (heck, any) search facility - probably half of them could get a quicker solution from existing articles if they did...
Those who fail to learn history are doomed to repeat it. --- George Santayana (December 16, 1863 – September 26, 1952)
Those who fail to clear history are doomed to explain it. --- OriginalGriff (February 24, 1959 – ∞)
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PJ Arends wrote: guess posting a message in the lounge about it would be a good way to get it noticed
Don't even think about it. 
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Oh no, it would have to be subtle.
Within you lies the power for good - Use it!
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OriginalGriff wrote: Is it just me, or is getting the words right a lot, lot harder than the code?
No, it's definitely not just you 
Cranking out the code for D3.js crash course - Part2[^] - and writing the article wan't all that hard as the code isn't very complicated.
On the other hand I put a lot of work into DBTool for Oracle - Part 1[^], and I'm pretty certain that I was unable to create an article that did justice to that effort. Too much information, unclear as to what the project really is about, etc...
So far I've found that it's extreemly hard to create readable material on anything but fairly simple subjects ...
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Just yesterday I wrote an article about my software auto updater. It took me the better part of a day to write the software and about the same to write the article.
I have given up on the online editor. I just write it offline in html and paste it into the html box.
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Yvan Rodrigues wrote: my software auto updater.
Last week I almost posted in the Hall of Shame how I broke our software auto updater in the last release...the one that most customers are now running!  At least it's an easy workaround. I will check out your article.
"Go forth into the source" - Neal Morse
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Depends on the article. My latest two on SQL certainly took more time in writing the words than writing the queries. Together they took me about 100-150 hours to write.
The one before that, A Look under the hood of the .NET Framework, took a lot longer. I wasn't familiar with the stuff I was writing about and actually getting the code right was harder than getting the words right. I would spend hours getting the code right and looking up each and every opcode on Google and MSDN and then simply write down what I had done for the last few hours. I also did that article in both VB and C#, which also took quite some time to get right (both languages had to compile to the same IL).
And yes, a lot of time does go into fighting the submission wizard, unfortunately... 
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I am a .NET trainer, so I'm very precise about the words I use in article and the one that my trainee use. I'm used to that, and I was not before. (A C++ programmer, that, in C#, calls a "field" an "attribute" is a cardinal sin for me. The reverse is true.)
Also, I use Windows live writer to write, and post-edit the article to make it works in the wizard. Writing article in the wizard in unproductive.
If it is hard to put things into words, I tend to search for flaws in my own understanding.
Everytimes I write an article it results in major refactoring of my project. Somehow, the human language catches flaws and semantic errors in my code better than the compiler.
Writing seems harder because it catches different type of errors your machine can't detect.
You don't have to write though. Just buy a rubber duck, works also for other purpose than debugging.
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I used to use one of my bosses as a rubber duck when I had a complex problem. Since he was about as technical as my cat it worked fine, for me. For him, I think it made him feel "involved"... 
Those who fail to learn history are doomed to repeat it. --- George Santayana (December 16, 1863 – September 26, 1952)
Those who fail to clear history are doomed to explain it. --- OriginalGriff (February 24, 1959 – ∞)
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ALL THE TIME
I answer questions on an almost daily basis on Lidnug (The LI UG I help run) , and time and time again I think to my self, gee that would make a great blog post, or a great CP Article or similar...
but guess what...
It never ends up getting written.
My new years resolution this year was to start blogging properly again, at least once a month.
I've already broken that resolution.
at least however, it's not a 100 page book....
oh wait... I have another of those coming up sometime in the future too...
Rats.
Guess I'll have to invent that auto article writing code sooner than I thought then.
Shawty 
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Peter Shaw wrote: Guess I'll have to invent that auto article writing code sooner than I thought then.
Well, I hope you're going to write and article on it! 
Those who fail to learn history are doomed to repeat it. --- George Santayana (December 16, 1863 – September 26, 1952)
Those who fail to clear history are doomed to explain it. --- OriginalGriff (February 24, 1959 – ∞)
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Yea I am.... just as soon as I finish writing that new web app I'm on with to get 48 Hours out of a 24 hour day ![Java | [Coffee]](https://codeproject.global.ssl.fastly.net/script/Forums/Images/coffee.gif)
and yes... that is a signal that copious amounts of caffeine WILL be needed.
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Explaining what you did is the hardest part, I sometimes write articles (for my employer) and they almost always end up taking me a full day worth of work, despite the fact that what I write about is something I already did for a customer.
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It's funny. Just talked about it with my mates in office this morning... Told them about my experience playing around with Intel XDK...
I'm not questioning your powers of observation; I'm merely remarking upon the paradox of asking a masked man who he is. (V)
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Erudite_Eric wrote: but when the 5% that typifies their national character rises to the fore they are complete tossers.
And that 5% is permanently to the fore in Paris...
Those who fail to learn history are doomed to repeat it. --- George Santayana (December 16, 1863 – September 26, 1952)
Those who fail to clear history are doomed to explain it. --- OriginalGriff (February 24, 1959 – ∞)
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Paris does seem to be the worst of it. Really, it is a sh*t hole. Annyone thinking of going there, dont, the food is sh*t, the people tossers, the authorities arrogant, abuseive, and will rip you off and even steal from you under threat of violence. And then you have the gypsy pick pockets...
modified 23-Feb-14 4:22am.
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And the taxi drivers who don't understand where you want to go unless you have a Paris accent...
Those who fail to learn history are doomed to repeat it. --- George Santayana (December 16, 1863 – September 26, 1952)
Those who fail to clear history are doomed to explain it. --- OriginalGriff (February 24, 1959 – ∞)
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F*** em all. When ever I drove in Paris, I had a really sh*tty BMW 3 series, dented all over, I just used to cut the Taxi drivers up all over the place, blast them with the horm the second they didnt move quick enough, and so on . OK, I had a lot of experince driving in London, used to be a delivery driver there, taxi drivers are wimps, they will always back off because they cant afford the insurance if they dont, so yeah, if you are driving in PAris, be a c***. Its a laugh, and the pricks deserve it!
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The Parisians don't even like the French.
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By all reports, the feeling is entirely mutual!
Those who fail to learn history are doomed to repeat it. --- George Santayana (December 16, 1863 – September 26, 1952)
Those who fail to clear history are doomed to explain it. --- OriginalGriff (February 24, 1959 – ∞)
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The French prefer the English to Parisiens, I kid you not, I am Enggiish and live in France and have heard this enough to know its a fact.
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