Chapter 9: The writing process
- Overview
- Overview of the writing process
- 1. Planning
- 2. Information gathering
- 3. Writing
- 4. Reviewing
- 5. Publishing
Topic 1 of 7
The five main steps in the documentation writing process include (1) Planning (creating a doc plan, establishing roles), (2) Gathering information (interviewing engineers, product managers, etc.), (3) Writing (separating content into groups, outlining, scheduling reviews, writing the first draft), (4) Reviewing (reaching out to the right people, incorporating feedback, resolving conflicts), and (5) Publishing (integrating new content, adding metadata, coordinating timing, publicizing releases). This chapter provides practical tips in each writing step, such as recording engineering interviews, bringing questions to review meetings, and publicizing releases through newsletters. Although many other aspects of API documentation might seem more pressing, such as configuring your publishing toolchain, writing is still a core task technical writers do when creating API documentation.
About Tom Johnson
I'm an API technical writer based in the Seattle area. On this blog, I write about topics related to technical writing and communication — such as software documentation, API documentation, AI, information architecture, content strategy, writing processes, agent skills, tech comm careers, and more. Check out my AI courses for more on the latest in AI and tech comm. If you're looking for info about documenting APIs, see my API documentation course.
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Finally, I want to note a couple of things. I usually write the first drafts of my posts myself and then use AI to improve accuracy, clarity, and detail in places, so my writing is a mix of human and AI. (Hopefully that's not too off-putting.) Also, the opinions I express on my blog are my own perspectives, not those of my employer.