From Spells to Syntax (Part 1)

The Unexpected Connections

Nov 23, 2024

Hello, and welcome.
You are here at the start of a four-part series of posts that will dive into a subject that is close to me. Writing and coding are not typically easily compared, as it's likely not the first thing that comes to mind when considering these two subjects together. But there is more of a connection than you might realize.

In the four parts, I will dive into the different comparisons we can make between the two, but I won’t make it to detailed. So if you have never written a story or a single line of code, you should be able to follow.

At the bottom, you can find an index of all the parts so you can skip to those the moment they are released. As this is my first attempt at something like this, it may not be perfect. But if you have feedback, please leave it in the comment section. I will do my best to read and respond to all of you lovely people ;)

Without holding you any longer, let’s get going.

Recently, I was tasked with adding new functionality to our company website. As I dove into the project, I stumbled upon a surprising realization: I was approaching the code with the same mindset that I use when crafting my novel.

Chapter 1: From freedom to fatal

With her index finger stretched out and her gaze focused on the massive dungeon door, Elana began tracing an intricate but invisible pattern in the air above her head, creating an invisible magic circle. As she started the incantation, aetheric light started to emanate from the circle, which now glowed with a bright white glow. As she finished the last syllable of the incantation, the light collected in the palm of her hand. A bright blinding beam of light erupted from her hand, and slammed into the center of the large doors.

“Open!“

The door that was blocking the heroes suddenly lit up, a deafening rumble announcing the shifting of the massive door panels.

Light from the other side filtered into the darkness that had held them captive before. Hope returned as the view of the blue sky expanded with every second and a wave of warmth washed over the group as the group made their way outside.

Finally, outside, Erik turned around towards Elena.

“Where did you learn that skill?“ he asked. ”*I† rεaℓl¥ hεlpεd u$ 0ut @nd it l00ked 4m@zing*”

Elena furrowed her brows as she could hardly understand what Erik just said. Something’s off. What is happening?_ She thought.

She paused, a flicker of confusion crossing her face. "Well," she began slowly, "I read it in a spell book. I don't know how it works, but I'm happy it did the trick."

Together, the heroes walked out of the dungeon, freed from the labyrinth they had been trapped in for days. All the trials they had to overcome had finally paid off.

As the heroes walked toward the nearby village, the world suddenly froze. Birds hung motionless in the sky, sound disappeared, and time seemed to stop, freezing everyone in place.

“What is goi…“

**ERROR: Fatal exception occurred. Failed to load asset 'textures/ancient_ruins/stone_wall_03.dds'. Asset not found or corrupted. (Exception code: 0xC0000005)**

Chapter 2: Eureka! My Shower Had a Stack Overflow

You know… — sometimes life just sucks, doesn’t it? You're swept up in the moment of your favorite game, movie, or blog article. Then—BOOM! Something happens and everything is gone. Don’t worry though, this blog won’t crash your browser. _—At least I hope not._ —No promises.

Recently I have been getting a bit more serious about writing. Not just for my fanfiction or novel, but for writing itself. I delved into character dialogue, story structure, and other writing elements. During the day you can find my working as a web developer, but in the evenings and weekends, I try to dedicate time to writing.

Some time ago, just like the hero's party, I saw the light as well. Well figuratively I mean. I was in the one location that is central to the biggest stories, universes, and characters ever created. And the place they die the moment you get out of. Of course, I'm talking about the shower. What else did you think I was talking about?

Earlier i mentioned that I recently started working on a new project. I don't usually take work home, but this project was an exception. Things were coming together nicely and, don't tell my colleagues this, I had some fun with naming conventions. You can fill in the rest however you want haha. Anyway, I was wrapping up the project and was ready for my colleagues to test it. Later that evening, as I showered and wound down, my mind drifted back to the project. I found myself going through the code almost as if I were on a journey that was heading to its climactic end.

I stood on the precipice of a massive revelation, the kind humanity had never seen before... *Really? did it have to be so dramatic?*

As the warm water helped me relax, my mind reached the climax of—uhm—code, and the door to infinite wisdom opened up. The convergence of everything I'd written, all the processes in play, all leading to one ultimate moment: a popup on the screen with a simple text. Ok, that was a bit anti-climactic wasn't it.

Anyway, thinking about code had more parallels to writing than I'd anticipated. The computer was the hero, the code its world. And after that pivotal moment, I don't think I ever saw my code the same way again

I really need to stop making things so dramatic.

Sorry for the dramatics, but the writer in me now makes everything seem like a journey with achievements.

”Achievement unlocked: “Exaggeration is an art form“

Chapter 3: My Brain's a Weird Place (But It Works!) (Sometimes)

Now, I know that many people find coding as boring as watching paint dry. But believe me, when I say this, you might actually be correct. Yeah, I could try to deny it, but who am I fooling? But don't worry, even if you've never written or even seen a line of code, you'll be able to follow along. And if not, I happily accept your frustrated comments. Please go easy on me

For over 11 years now, I've been dipping my toes in the magical world of web development. Now, I could bore you with a long list of technical achievements, but instead, I'll just say this... I bothered to work on how websites looked and how they work behind the scenes.

In October 2023, I reached a boiling point. It seemed like every story I encountered, whether in a game, anime, TV show, or manga, sparked a new idea in my mind. My head was constantly churning, making crossovers, and totally new ideas. I was so consumed by these new ideas that I found myself brainstorming everywhere I went. There were so many combinations of story elements that were shooting through my head, I just had to start writing some down. Do you remember the shower I took that brought all of this about? I was writing ideas in the water on the walls and the fogged-up glass. I even started acting some ideas out... Yeah, it's a little embarrassing to think back on.

To give you a better idea of the kinds of ideas that were swirling around in my head, let's take a short detour. For instance, imagine Harry Potter in a Lord of the Rings setting, with a bunch of teenage orcs waving crude sticks and blurting out 'Wingardium Leviosa!' in their gruff voices. Imagine a mashup of Die Hard, Mission Impossible, and Game of Thrones, with Jon Snow dangling from the top of the Ice Wall, shouting 'Yippee-ki-yay, Motherf***' at a horde of approaching White Walkers.

At the turn of 2024, I began writing my original novel. I was working out the main plot points, the world, the magic system, and all the other essential components of a compelling story. and had put my digital pen to the digital paper. The chaos in my mind subsided, replaced by a steady flow of creativity as my original narrative took shape.

After creating my Substack account, I started reading posts about the structure of blogs, stories, and fan fiction. Their emphasis on outlining, creating a clear structure, and developing compelling characters mirrored my approach to coding. The way they thought about the purpose of the story and how lore would be important, clearly resembled the way you have an idea for your code and the hardware you would run it on.

Inspired by this newfound connection between coding and writing, I decided to put my thoughts into words. I always wanted to write a blog that was meaningful, at least to me. Sadly, I never felt confident enough in my experiences or knowledge to share them. When things clicked in my head, I made up my mind, and this article is the result.

Join me on this journey of discovery, and let's explore the unexpected intersection of coding and writing together! In part 2 we will be exploring the basics of every story. The place and the why.

I'm excited to continue this journey with you. Until next time!

If you reached this part, thank you for reading. I hope it is making sense so far.
The story goes on in part 2. So hope to see you there.

— Part 1: The Unexpected Connections <You are here>