How I write my answers on StackExchange

In this post I have shared a bit about my process for crafting answers on StackExchange Electrical Engineering and the challenges I encounter.

My style of wriying

The primary issue stems from my rather unconventional writing style. Instead of composing a complete response in one go, I tend to work in a rather chaotic manner, adding thoughts and ideas to a “skeleton" as they come to me. This approach is typical of a creative, inventive mind, a topic I have explored in more detail in How to extract and record new ideas.

How I create my answers

To elaborate, my process usually unfolds as follows:

A question piques my interest and I am eager to provide an answer. I am interested in fundamental questions that have a certain trickiness to them. These are usually taken from textbooks and books by well-known authors (Horowitz and Hill, Sedra, Razavi, etc.) Unfortunately, fewer and fewer such questions are being asked lately. Thankfully, software sometimes "awakens" old questions from years ago when more interesting topics were more common.

First draft of the schematics on the computer: I start by sketching out a basic outline using CircuitLab, serving as a framework for my response. At this stage, I don't try very hard to align schematics; I do it later. However, I do put them in a light gray frame that I often have to resize. The goal is for the components of the schematics to be on the same scale.

I save this work in Google Docs, as I have found that StackExchange's autosave (backup) function is not entirely reliable.

Moving to my smartphone: I then switch to my phone and download the initial answer from Google Docs, finding it more comfortable to write while relaxing in bed, at a park, or anywhere else. I let my thoughts flow freely, saving frequently as I go. Unfortunately, Chrome has a habit of refreshing unexpectedly, causing me to lose my work. As a result, I have had to resort to using the Samsung browser as a backup.

Back at my computer: As I write, I often need to revise or add to my CircuitLab diagrams. This requires me to switch back to my computer, which can be disruptive if I am not at home. This back-and-forth process repeats multiple times.

Digressions: Sometimes, I will get sidetracked by a particular aspect of the problem and pause my writing to delve deeper into the concept. These digressions can sometimes delay the publication of my answer for days. Alternatively, I could come up with a new interpretation of the phenomenon.

Final result: This iterative process often leads to a situation where I am completely absorbed in crafting my response, neglecting other tasks. Once I feel satisfied, I publish my answer. However, it is not uncommon for new ideas to pop into my head after publication, prompting me to make additional edits.