[zelphirkalt]

To me writing software is similar to writing fantasy. You need to find good abstract concepts and how to compose them. Then you need to take care of how you put them in whatever language you use. I find it to be a very creative process and I pity the one who does not find their creativity at least tickled when writing code.

[throwawaaarrgh]

Writing fantasy should require what you write to be good, or at least entertaining, to sell; right? But bad fiction sells almost as well as good. You just need to follow a formula to put together the rudiments of something functional, and then find somebody who's good at selling. Slap a good cover on it, buy a good blurb, and get it in the grocery store.

Nothing personal, but you are who I'm talking about when I say nerds who just like to build toys in the sandbox. I don't think you intend on improving technology, or making a better product, as much as chasing that tickled feeling of sitting and writing. It's just amazing to me that people still get paid very well for effectively writing a copy of a copy of a book, while most fiction writers barely scrape by. You'd think the people paying us would just use the last book and not pay you to write it again, or demand it be better. But we're all fine with photocopied monotony.