Lately I’ve also been wondering about the relationship and correlation between software writing skills and writing skills.
Writing code and writing literature are curiously similar. It begins with thinking, both structured and creatively. Breaking a story down into pieces while keeping the bigger picture, and making a plan for how to approach it. Then comes the difficult metamorphosis where abstract ideas/concepts are turned into concrete words/code.
Good literature/code is concise, expressive, even beautiful. It doesn't come about easily, but takes time. The author reshapes and refactors the text until it meets some standard that the author aspires to, often revisiting it days later to read it with fresh eyes. Then it's committed for review, and may still have to be reworked a bit.
I agree with those who say that coding is more art than engineering. At least if you're really good at it.