I am a writer based in Medellín, Colombia with a background in computer science and journalism.

I believe coding and writing have a lot in common. Ever since my first gig as a junior web developer, I was trying my hand at writing fiction on the side. Back in 2001, the stories I came up with were not great (just like my rookie Javascript code) but I kept trying, inspired by how stories by other authors managed to alter my brain only by using words. I realized those stories that make you laugh or cry or even change your perception of reality run like pieces of software on the human mind.

As the world became more computer-mediated than before, users required a better experience with digital products. Products could not get away with error messages like “fatal exception,” they needed to sound more human and often in a conversational, friendly tone. Technology products urged for some word magic.

I have more than 15 years of experience living at the intersection of words and technology. With a knack for writing in a clear, concise language, I band together with design and marketing teams to craft copy with the user in mind, reflecting the product's tone and story, and improving the overall experience.

In 2010 I co-founded Fractal, a storytelling-focused nonprofit that runs Encuentro Fractal, the first design fiction/sci-fi prototyping event in Latin America. We have worked on narrative content for start-ups, research labs, and nonprofit organizations. Also, we have contributed to project management, design sprints, UX, usability testing, QA, and onboarding processes.

My short story collection in Spanish, Indistinguible de la Magia, was published by Penguin Random House and won the 2015 Medellín Short Fiction Award. I worked as a writer and producer for Hyper-Reality, an award-winning film by director Keiichi Matsuda and my short stories have appeared in leading magazines and literary journals from the United States, Spain, UK, Czech Republic and New Zealand.

Email: hernan@universofractal.com