Software Engineer to Novelist: Writing a Book Like Coding

In plain words

A software engineer documents his approach to writing his debut novel "Means and Motive" by applying development practices to fiction writing. He used Emacs and HTML for manuscript composition, built a custom tool called EPublish to convert HTML into .epub format, and created shell scripts to generate PDF versions for print. The process included design documentation for the fictional world, task lists for chapters, and version control for tracking revisions. This resource is for software developers interested in applying their technical workflow and tools to creative writing projects.

written from the facts on this page · September 2026

From the sources

In the maker’s words, at launch

I just published my first book, Means and Motive. ( https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GYCZJVGX ) As a software engineer, I approached writing like a software project. I used familiar tools (Emacs and HTML) for the primary writing. I built my own tool (EPublish) to transform the HTML manuscript into an…

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