[ffdixon1]

I must have ready ZMM at least seven times (so far) in my life. Back when I was taking an undergraduate, I read it the first time and was inspired to take as many English courses as I could. I wanted to be a technical writer. After a series of co-op work-terms in the field (the companies loved a tech writer who could also program), I landed a full-time job as a technical writer in a large telecommunications company. I would read ZMM on the bus to work for inspiration. Pirsig could write with such clarity that I tried to emulate him in my writing (as I'm sure all poor writers do). I eventually returned to programming as it was my first love. The job as a tech writer definitely improved my writing skills, and reading ZMM definitely improved my life.

[roymurdock]

Pynchon worked as a technical writer for Boeing, and Vonnegut worked as a publicist for GE. You can see how their appreciation of tech shaped their future work. You're in good company!

[stinkytaco]

Also Ted Chiang, who is a technical writer for Microsoft.