Writing For Developers by Piotr Sarna and Cynthia Dunlop

TL;DR.

I read "Writing For Developers" by Cynthia Dunlop and Piotr Sarna. It was published recently at the beginning of this year. I don't remember exactly how I discovered it, but I'm pretty sure it was Aaron Francis' tweet or newsletter.

I had no idea what to expect. The book is excellent. Summarises and concisely structures everything.

I jotted down a few notes in no particular order:

• Headings Are APIs for Readers: Headings are like function signatures: they should be short, predictable, and tell readers precisely what’s inside. Place the most important words first — just like naming a method fetchUser() instead of doSomethingToRetrieveUserData().
• Clarity Beats Complexity: Long, layered headings confuse readers; deep inheritance trees confuse developers. Whether in code or writing, aim for the simplest hierarchy that still communicates structure.
• Write to Think, Not Just to Publish: Writing clarifies your own mental models. Blog posts, like well-structured code, force you to resolve fuzzy thinking into something precise and shareable.
• Answer the Reader’s Questions: A good heading anticipates what the reader is asking at that moment. For branding, structure posts so that they “converse” with the reader (e.g., “Why should you care about X?” → “Here’s how it helps you”).
• Unexpected Angles Create Memorability: Posts that reframe the obvious in surprising ways stick with people. Example: showing how compiling an old game to WebAssembly teaches modern dev tooling. These “aha” posts differentiate you from generic tutorials.
• Controversy (Done Thoughtfully) Sparks Engagement: A bold, defensible opinion (“Microservices are overrated”) creates discussion. Just as long as you bring evidence, not just hot takes.
• Your “Why” Is Your Brand: Readers resonate with purpose. “Why did you build this?” → “Why should you care?” The same question powers strong personal branding: people follow not just what you make, but why you make it.
• Leave Your Comfort Zone to Grow: Writing about unfamiliar tools (NeoVim, a new framework) or hard lessons makes your brand more authentic and relatable. Sharing struggles and experiments shows growth, not perfection — and readers trust that.
• Brevity Signals Mastery: Bloated explanations feel amateur; concise ones signal expertise. Short posts, sharp headlines, and clean visuals make your brand approachable and professional.
• Interactive Content Wins Attention: Developers love to play with ideas. Embedding interactive demos, sandboxes, or visualisations makes your writing distinctive. Think “explorable explanations” for code, not static walkthroughs.

Details

• Amazon
• Publisher: Manning
• Published: January 2025
• ISBN-10: 1633436284
• ISBN-13: 978-1633436282