Why Developers Write

Write for work

The most straightforward reason why developers write is that they have to for work:

• Developers have to write emails, code reviews, issues, and pull requests.
• They have to write proposals for projects they want to work on.
• They also have to explain blockers and outages when things go wrong. If you can write a great explanation demonstrating you understand the root cause and how to fix it, that can add a silver lining to any mistake.
• They certainly have to write self-assessments for promotions and peer reviews for their teammates!
• Senior developers are expected to write design docs before any implementation takes place.
• Some companies even evaluate developer impact based on their ability to communicate effectively with internal and external partners.
• 60-70% of communication is nonverbal. Remote work replaces body language with writing. According to Matt Mullenweg, who runs Automattic (owner of WordPress), one of the largest remote companies on Earth, the only way to scale remote work is to go asynchronous— replacing facetime with even more writing. Therefore, writing becomes a remote work superpower.