The two practices have quite a bit in common, including the need to break down a very large, hard-to-grasp problem (a novel or an application) into a set of smaller easier-to-solve problems (objects, functions, chapters) that fit together in a coherent whole.

I wrote a similar post when, after many years of software development, I finally got around to writing my first novel. https://adiamond.me/2015/01/writing-and-programming/

The author is right in saying the key is really to show up and put in the work. That can be really hard for a lot of people, but programmers are already accustomed to it.

BTW, Vikram Chandra's Geek Sublime also does a good job investigating the ties between writing code and writing prose. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/19353724-geek-sublime

Chandra goes way back, pointing out that the generative grammar we use today to describe valid programming language constructs was first created 2500 years ago in India by a guy named Panini who fully and precisely described the structure of the entire Sanskrit language. There's more on that here, if you're interested: https://medium.com/@dmitrypavluk/we-should-thank-sanskrit-fo...