The concept of a cerebral shunt, a medical device, was introduced in his short story "William and Mary." Dahl’s work on the Wade-Dahl-Till valve designed to alleviate brain fluid build-up.
Mark Twain patented a self-pasting scrapbook, a convenient way to preserve memories through adhesive pages.
Gene Wolfe, an engineering editor, helped design the machine that produces Pringles potato chips.
Lewis Carroll, the author of "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland," patented a postage case for holding stamps securely. The case had secret pockets for quick access to the right denominations of the stamps.
Margaret Atwood developed the “Longpen” for remote autographing books through video-conferencing, personalising inscription on a LCD screen.
The inventor of the brassiere, patented a novel design of a brassiere as an alternative to corset using handkerchief for anatomical support, Caresse Crosby, was also a writer.
Vikram Chandra described a software called Granthika for authors.
Although not solely credited to him, Robert Heinlein's writing and inventions influenced the development of the waterbed.