[_ea1k]

Computer programs can often be structured in nearly infinite ways while accomplishing the same (or nearly the same) objective.

Writing can often be organized and worded in nearly infinite ways while getting across the (or nearly the same) message.

There are some pretty strong similarities. Writer's block and programmer's block correlate.

EDIT: Sadly, writing has no compiler to tell me that I overlooked the word "block" after "programmer's".

[jonnycomputer]

Sure, the goal of writing a piece of software is to have a piece of software, and the goal of writing a novel is to have a novel. That's trivial, though.

When I write a piece of software, I have more concrete goals that just write a piece of software. I'll usually have a goal (a TODO app), and maybe some ideas about which features. Sure, I might not know exactly how I'll get there, and along the way I might come up with the new ideas, but you don't start with the goal of writing a TODO app and end up with an application that processes DICOM images.

With writing a novel, well, very often the writer has no idea where it will go. This varies--some authors spend a lot of time planning everything out, scene by scene, chapter by chapter. But a lot of authors discovery write. That's what I do.. When I write, I'm waiting, hoping, to surprise myself. I want to go---oh what the hell is that!?

When programming, I go, Oh, I need to do that, to get this working. While writing, I'm constantly feeling my way through each word. I re-read it, outloud, tasting each word, and constantly asking myself: how does it make me feel?

[_ea1k]

That's fair and I guess highlights that I wasn't thinking about exploratory writing or even fiction. It is definitely very different if you aren't starting the writing process with an end in mind.