: Re: How do I write a computer-savvy/hacker character? I have a character in my story for whom being computer savvy is supposed to be a major personality trait. The character works with computers

@Karen856

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There is a problem with the work "hacker"

If you are using the work "hacker", you need to also specify the timeframe. In the sixties and seventies, "hacker" was a word of praise used to describe someone who was able to creatively see through complexity and find ways to do things that other found to be elegant. To be a hacker was to be at the top of the craft.

That changed to the point where "hacker" is often associated with "criminal", and the practice is more like breaking and entering that elegant solutions to very difficult problems.

Speaking as one such "hacker"

Personally, I am a deeply formed engineer. My ex-wife commented that I see the world as blue-prints. She is not wrong. I see time sequence diagrams. I follow stress lines in structures. I visualize HTTP packets flowing as I type this answer.

You want to write someone who sees the insider workings of things. It isn't that they possess occult knowledge of mystical scripts and secretive root-kits. It is that, to them, what is hidden (yes, I know that is a synonym of occult) to some is exposed to them.

Examples

There is a story in Richard Feynman's book that covers this: A boy fixes radios with his brain. The cartoon "Dilbert" also captures it well. I found the YouTube version: The Knack.

I wish you the best, and I would like to meet your character.

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