The Markdown Book: On Writing ⭐️

I may or may not write and publish a short e-book about Markdown sometime this year, most likely as part of a monthly focus. But I've written small parts of it already, as I do, and I figured it might be interesting for at least some readers. And so here's an early draft of an introductory chapter that may or my not be called "On writing." We'll see.
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On writing
I returned to college in the early 1990s with the goal of learning software development, a way to transform my love of personal computing into a career. But I was sidetracked by Gary Brent, a computer science professor I admired and adored, who was working on a book about Visual Basic: Would I be interested in performing a technical review of the book?

Of course. But that technical review quickly turned into some writing. And then into an offer to formally become a co-author of the book. And then I ended up almost writing the entire book myself, based on handouts that Gary had created for his classes. In what I still regard as one of the most out-of-character moves of my life, I somehow summoned the courage to ask Gary if I could be listed as the main author of the book, given the scope of my contribution. To my surprise, he agreed.

Gary and I went on to write several more books together, and then I wrote some myself. And then many more. At the time of this writing, I have written, co-written, and contributed to well over 30 books in roughly as many years. And while I never did realize my original dream of becoming a software developer, I am fluent in several programming and scripting languages, and have often written about those topics.

But I have also written far more books about other technical topics, most often about Microsoft Windows. And, more recently, I am co-authoring a Mexico City guidebook with my wife Stephanie called Eternal Spring: Our Guide to Mexico City, which is updated annually.

Over the past 30+ years, some things haven't changed. I still sit in front of a computer screen, tapping away on the keyboard, creating words today just as I did in the early 1990s. But some things have changed quite a bit. Computers, for example, are a lot more sophisticated today. But more to the point of this discussion, the tools and other technologies that I use to write have changed dramatically.

I am old enough that I learned to type on a mechanical, non-electric typewriter. But I am also lucky enough to be part of the first generation of humans to have experienced the first waves of arcade video games, home video games, and then personal computers, which were often called home computers back in the late 1970s and early 1980s. I distinctly remember seeing a Commodore computer and some related peripherals in a Sears department store as a child and how my mind immediately went to what I might create with such a tool. (Videogames, of course.) And over the next decade I owned various Commodore computers, including a C64, a C64C, and then, a after a brief detour with...