As I start the process of writing a novel of at least 50,000 words in a mere 30 days this month, as part of the National Novel Writing Month insanity, an interesting parallel between novel planning and software design occurs to me.

As I have started doing more work with Perl this year, I started building useful software design skills a bit. As I started planning, in early October, the novel that I started writing on Monday, I realized that much of what I'd taught myself (and what I have also learned from others) about doing good preliminary software design has helped with the task of planning out my novel. That activity, in turn, helped me to better understand the task of software design.

Seemingly wholly disparate, separate skills — writing a novel and writing a program — have much in common in terms of the useful, fundamental skills needed for preplanning them. Each task makes me better at the other.

If only I was so involved with writing Perl last November, my first year of participating in NaNoWriMo, as I am this year.

- apotheon
CopyWrite Chad Perrin

In reply to noveling and software design by apotheon

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