Learning to write effectively - for programmers
grellas: Strunk & White, Fowler, et al. emphasize rules and precepts. These are OK but too one-dimensional.Stephen King, after years at his trade, emphasized basics - master grammar. I would add (with TallGuyShort), master rhetoric. In addition, I threw myself into the study of classical languages (Latin and Greek) in order to master complex sentence constructions, fine points of verbs, etc. Once you learn all that, it is important that you basically throw it away - that is, that you never come across as pedantic.The great example of a light and brilliant style by someone thoroughly grounded in the classics is P.G. Wodehouse. His topics are all fluff. His style is priceless. Fun, light in tone, yet full of subtlety (all drawn from his classical training with words and with literary allusions). Read about how Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry, who played Bertie and Jeeves in a BBC series, positively gush over his style (they don't exaggerate).As an autodidact, it would seem you are a natural to throw yourself into this area as well. If interested, here is a link to something I did on what lawyers need to do to write well (http://www.grellas.com/articles.html), for what it is worth.Can't speak to blogging itself. I'm sure others can.