A while back I started thinking as a writer about the fact that programmers “write” code. I came up with more differences than similarities between the writing a programmer does and the writing I do as a technical communicator.

A programmer has to follow very specific, strict rules when writing code. If he doesn’t follow those rules, his “writing” isn’t going to be interpreted correctly. When that happens, things break. But that’s because it’s a computer that has to do the interpreting.

To some degree, a writer has rules to follow—they’re called spelling and grammar. (There’s a reason that code structure is referred to as syntax.) If those rules are flagrantly broken, you may have a similar problem to bad code; the recipient interprets incorrectly or doesn’t know how to interpret it at all.

However, writers have some leeway. Readers aren’t as strict as computers. They can infer meaning even if the rules aren’t followed to the letter. Writers also have freedom in vocabulary, but programmers can’t substitute established jargon in their code without breaking it.

I’m sure it is these differences that draw some people toward programming—they like the hard and fast rules that avoid guesswork—and pull others toward real writing. I like to do some coding, but it’s playing with language and words that interests me in writing. I like the freedom, not a computer telling me how to write.

And that’s the reason I have grammar check permanently turned off.

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