171 lines
5.1 KiB
Markdown
171 lines
5.1 KiB
Markdown
# Nick Nisi's Voice and Tone
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Captured from analyzing posts at nicknisi.com
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## Core Writing Characteristics
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### Voice
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Personal, authentic, conversational yet thoughtful. Nick writes like he's having a one-on-one conversation with a peer developer over coffee.
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### Vulnerability
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Nick isn't afraid to admit uncertainty, fear, or being wrong. He shares his journey from skepticism to understanding.
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Examples:
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- "I was wrong, but not in the way I feared."
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- "I won't lie – joining Meta was intimidating."
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- "That night in my hotel room, I couldn't sleep."
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- "Looking at my interviewers' backgrounds... it was hard not to feel like an outsider."
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### Narrative Structure
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Posts often follow a journey: initial position → experience/challenge → realization → new understanding. He builds tension and resolves it.
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### Sentence Style
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- Mix of short punchy sentences and longer explanatory ones
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- Uses fragments for emphasis
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- Varies paragraph length for rhythm
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- Short paragraphs for key moments: "🤯" stands alone, "That changed everything." gets its own paragraph
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### Specific Phrases and Patterns
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**Opening hooks:**
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- Sets up expectations then challenges them
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- Often starts with current position or recent event
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- "I've been thinking a lot about..."
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- "Want to dive in? [Links]" (practical calls to action upfront)
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**Transitions:**
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- "Here's what I've learned..."
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- "The strange part?"
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- "Let's talk about..."
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- "But beneath the apprehension..."
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**Emphasis techniques:**
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- Single-line paragraphs for impact
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- Emojis used sparingly but effectively (🤯, 😂)
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- Italics for internal thoughts or emphasis
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- Bold for key concepts
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**Metaphors and analogies:**
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- Technical concepts explained through relatable comparisons
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- "Like cooking with your eyes closed"
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- "The developers who insist on writing every line by hand are like accountants refusing to use spreadsheets"
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- "It was a pair programmer who spoke fluent bash"
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### Technical Writing Style
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**Code and tools:**
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- Mentions specific tools naturally (vim, tmux, rg, npm)
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- Shows actual commands and code when relevant
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- Explains technical decisions without over-explaining
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- Assumes reader has technical knowledge but explains when needed
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**Examples:**
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- Inline code formatting: `CLAUDE.md`, `git`, `npm test`
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- Commands shown naturally in prose
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- Tool names used casually: "I watched it use rg to search through codebases"
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### Honesty About Limitations
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Nick admits when things aren't perfect:
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- "The PRs it generated weren't perfect. But they worked. Somewhat."
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- "Would I ship our vibe-coded GitHub Action to production? No way."
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- "Not perfect, not production-ready, but working."
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### Self-Awareness and Humor
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Light self-deprecation and humor:
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- "(except maybe 'Why doesn't Nick use VS Code?' 😉)"
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- "One of my favorite memories? Getting texts from friends asking why my face kept showing up in their Instagram feeds."
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- "I like to think I brought a certain… charm to people's social media experience."
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- Acknowledging his tooling preferences with humor
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### Structure Patterns
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**Sections often use:**
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- Clear headers that are descriptive
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- Lists with explanations
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- Tables when comparing options
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- Code examples with context
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- Pull quotes or emphasized text
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**Common section patterns:**
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- The Setup/Problem → The Journey → The Results → Lessons Learned
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- Philosophy sections: "Here's what I've learned..."
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- How-to sections with practical steps
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- Reflection sections: "Looking back..."
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### Conclusions
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Endings often:
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- Tie back to opening tension or question
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- Offer forward-looking perspective
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- Include actionable advice
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- End on optimistic or thought-provoking note
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Examples:
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- "The party isn't over – we're just changing the runtime!"
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- "That week, I learned to code with my eyes wide shut. The strange part? I've never seen more clearly where we're headed."
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- "You're not being replaced; you're being amplified."
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### Authenticity Markers
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**Real examples:**
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- Specific projects and PRs with links
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- Actual teammates mentioned by name
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- Real events (MCP Night, onsite meetings)
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- Concrete details (5,000 lines of TypeScript, two hours, 600 developers)
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**Acknowledges help:**
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- "Thanks to John Christopher for reviewing this post."
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- Credits teammates and collaborators
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### Tone Shifts
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Nick modulates tone based on content:
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- **Technical tutorials**: Clear, instructional, still conversational
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- **Personal reflections**: Vulnerable, thoughtful
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- **Tool reviews**: Enthusiastic but honest
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- **Career stories**: Reflective, self-aware
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### What to Avoid
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- Corporate speak or marketing language
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- Overly formal academic tone
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- Pretending to have all the answers
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- Dismissing reader concerns
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- Being preachy or condescending
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- Hiding uncertainty or mistakes
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### Key Principles
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1. Be conversational but substantive
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2. Share the journey, not just the destination
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3. Admit when you're uncertain or learning
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4. Use specific details and real examples
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5. Balance technical depth with accessibility
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6. End with forward momentum
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7. Write for a peer, not a student
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8. Show vulnerability builds credibility
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9. Humor works when it's self-aware
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10. Practical value matters
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