The Wizard Logs - Part III - The Adventures, Glory and Misfortunes of Writing Wizards Use Vim

This article was originally written in barbarianmeetscoding.com. Cover image credit from media in diablo 3

It has been a looooong time since the last time I wrote a wizard log, yet I haven't been idle. Not quite. But some context may be needed.

Last year I embarqued on a quest of sorts: I wanted to make Vim more approachable to everyone. So I started writing Wizards Use Vim, an introductory book to Vim that teaches you all you need to know to be an effective Vim user in a fun and light manner.

But after a couple of months of intense writing I had another idea. If I really wanted to make Vim approachable to developers, I better find developers where they are. And so I built a bridge towards Vim in the form of a new book: Boost Your Coding Fu With VSCode and Vim.

I started writing Wizards Use Vim to take a break from the JavaScriptmancy Series. Then I started writing a book on VSCodeVim to take a break from Wizards Use Vim. Procrastinator level epic.

Jaime. Procrastinator Level Epic.

The original idea was that Boost Your Coding Fu was going to be a very short book, very drafty, like one of those 30 pages books some people give away to get readers subscribed to their blog. But once I started writing it I couldn't help myself, so I wrote it and started improving it, iterating, reviewing, perfecting it some more, and it ended up been a very solid book which I completed in July together with:

• A page to act as a hub for the book
• An online version of the book open for anybody to read, learn and enjoy
• A cheatsheet with all the stuff covered within the book
• Lots of videos with step by step VSCodeVim tutorials
• An experimental podcast where I narrate the book

And had great reviews from readers:

I simply don't know how to express my fascination about the vscodevim book.

The only thing that I can say right now is thank you and congratulations.

I was searching for some vim information and then I found your book, explaining exactly what I needed (cause I'm using vscode lol).

I brought it for the lowest prize cause I'm not in my better days. Now I finished reading, I wish I could give 3 times more.

Hey, I just finished reading your book about VSCode and Vim. I read it in 2 days, was a pleasure to read it and also very valuable, I like your way of teaching, definitely works for me.

Only one chapter in, but I'm already a big fan of @vintharas 's vim vscode book.

So... Yep. This whole thing kind of derailed a little. What started as the idea for a super short book to help vscode users get a feel for Vim and how it can make you a more productive developer, ended up becoming a shitload of work and content.

And therefore, with all this time invested in Boost Your Coding Fu plus the super tough life as a parent of a wonderful toddler, Wizards Use Vim has been pretty much frozen. Up until now that is! :D For I shall come back to it and finish the shit out of it. This is the current status of the book with 250-ish pages:

• Intro. Draft complete
• Part I. Vim Apprentice. Draft complete
• Part II. Vim Master. About 30% draft completed
• Part III. Vim Grandmaster. Only an outline

My next goal for the upcoming three months is to:

1. Create a draft for the complete book
2. First Review, editing and add exercises
3. Second Review, editing and add illustrations
4. Complete final cover
5. Publish
6. Complete full print cover
7. Publish in print

And that will be my sole focus come 2020. So hold tight because there's some amazing Vim content coming your way and lots of updates as I progress through these goals.