Writing code helps writing words

Early in my career, the only writing I did was code.  I was an IBM mainframe and early IBM PC coder, mostly in Assembler and COBOL.  I also wrote IBM PC BIOS routines and screen drivers for Louts 123.  And I was good at it.  At the time, I could not write a lick of English.  I learned to write the hard way, as an adult and as a necessity for my job and my career.

I was truly fortunate to have some mentors who appreciated the technical skills I could bring to consulting and helping clients and they took the time to teach me to write and present.  I learned a great deal from following the Barbara Minto style of pyramid writing which is fundamental to consultants who worked at McKinsey and Booz among others.

I lost touch with my technical roots though, as I started managing technology more.  I taught others how to deliver technology, extract value from technology, and I sold technology solutions.  But it has been some 25 years since I did hard-core coding.  I am getting back into that now and (1) loving it, and (2) learning that it helps with my 'word writing.'  Coding is just another language with grammar rules, structure, etc.  But it is far more precise - no slang, no alliteration, and no mistakes allowed!  But as with writing a story or a non-fiction book, you do require an outline and a structure, and you do need to develop the plot and scenes and characters.  They just take the form of procedures and subroutines and definitions of style.  And you need to have a good eye for copy-editing.  It has renewed my push for perfection when writing words, and provided some discipline to my writing process.

I got back into coding about three months ago.  Originally it was so I could tweak some simple HTML statements to modify ePUB files to enhance simple formatting issues in the final text and to provide hyperlinks that were not provided within the Windows platform of Scrivener (even though they are available on the Mac version).  Then I started to play around with Wordpress and blog posts by switching from the Visual Mode for writing blog posts the the Text Mode (where you are presented the blog in HTML format.  Again, it was to start to get a bit more control over the final editing and formatting.

But the big breakthrough for me came when I realized that by taking more control at the HTML level at the end of the formatting and publishing cycle, that I could continue to do revisions without having to pay for 'professionals' to finalize things for me and then pay them again when I made changes later.  I will still use professional graphic designers for the final output, but I will be much closer to completion when I turn things over.  It has also allowed me to create templates and experiment with templates to continue to improve the quality of output and the manner in which I work and then use that at the beginning of the writing cycle without having to worry about what it will technically look like at the end.

However, I was not expecting that it would improve my word writing discipline and process as much as it has.  I started with the technology to improve the writing process and it certainly has accomplished that.  But it has also improved my writing and my approach to writing.  There is not that much difference, no more than there is between writing erotic fiction, historical fiction or non-fiction:  Coding is just another genre of writing!

It may not work for everyone, and in fact, may be a large distraction from actual writing for many.  I benefited from having been an accomplished coder earlier in life.  But I know a few other authors who are getting into their coding and I expect they will be better writers because of it.


Steve Shipley
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Twitter: @shipleyaust
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Tripling my writing productivity with Scrivener

First of all, I would not have believe it had you told me prior to using Scrivener that it would be possible to triple my productivity as a writer.  But I am certain that my productivity has increased that much or more.  In addition to Scrivener, I have been using several other tools such as Evernote and Dropbox which have helped also.  But Scrivener on its own is the heart of my writing management workflow now and is the primary reason my productivity has increased so much.

I describe my previous writing process in a blog I wrote recently.  To summarize, I was using Microsoft Word for writing and had a few different to-do lists of activities to finalize the efforts and get ready for publishing.  But my current WIP is much more complex and it is was clear that using Word and a few to-do lists was going to be extremely onerous in terms of bringing this effort to readiness for publication, yet alone to do so with high quality.  Read my previous blog to understand the research I did and why I choose Scrivener.

But where did the productivity from Scrivener emanate from?  How is it possible to see a three- or four-fold improvement?  The productivity gains came from the following areas:

• Scrivener is not just an editor and word processing system, but also a project management system and publishing system
• Scrivener has 'binders' which the manuscript comprises (divided into Parts, Chapters, and Sections as you see fit), but the binders can also be used for non-manuscript tasks (under a section called 'Notes' which means they are not to be included in final publication), for use such as research, to-do folders, links to editing and grammar tools, etc.  This greatly integrated into one file all aspects of the writing process, including content, tasks, links, etc.
• I have multiple Notes binders to keep status of and links to research folders, URLs, etc. so within one window, I can work and swap between all the elements of the writing process
• Each binder has a separate window for notes, comments, thoughts, etc. and there is an overall one at the writing project level (you can toggle between the project and the individual binder [usually a Chapter] sections)
• I can annotate comments, endnotes, footnotes, etc. as I am writing to later build a Bibliography and respective citations which is integrated into my writing and not an onerous task to do later 
• The same is true for my use of photos and 'Fun Fact' insets.  These would be major undertakings later in the process, but now they are integrated into the writing process and a by-product of my writing
• Scrivener provides multiple split windows to keep two different parts of the manuscript on the screen for cross-referencing and being able to cross-check linked sections.  This has saved me a tremendous amount of scrolling back and forth in Word when comparing related sections and ensuring I have placed the content in the appropriate section
• Each binder maintains meta-data used for status, binder type, etc. which helps you understand where you are and to manage the writing process
• I use Evernote and my iPad to take notes, regardless if I am highlighting research in a Kindle book or using post-it notes with a printed book to capture the citation when it is first identified.  These notes then are synched (I do a manual cut and paste) from Evernote into a general binder into Scrivener and then into the individual chapters and section of the book to help me complete my writing or re-writing
• I use Dropbox and Evernote to provide PDF files and other research to study on my iPad and then create notes into Evernote to be loaded back into Scrivener
• Scrivener has sophisticated 'Compile' options to many different formats including ePub, Kindle, RTF, PDF, etc. which can then be tested immediately (using Kindle Previewer) for formatting issues and your final publication can be debugged early on in terms of technical formatting issues

The previous individual tasks and lengthy processes of writing, re-writing, photography, citation, editing, and publishing are integrated into a single workflow which saves a great deal of time.  I have also integrated mind mapping with Scrivener which has worked great, but that is a topic for another blog.  Scrivener supported by Evernote has been a 'close to perfect' set of tools for a significantly improved writing workflow.  It matches perfectly the way I like to work, fits my sense of order and integrates writing with project management to ensure you get the job of writing completed expeditiously.

Without Scrivener, I would probably have to spend another eight to ten months to finish off my current effort for my book, Wine Sense.  As it is now though, I have hopes to finish it by the end of this year.  And if you want to follow the progress on the book and also win a bottle of wine, please follow me on SAZ in the Cellar, either on Facebook or at my wine blog and website!

© 2013 Steve Shipley.

Steve Shipley
SAZ in the Cellar Facebook page
Twitter: @shipleyaust
My wine blog SAZ in the Cellar
Steve Shipley Pinterest Boards