A few weeks ago I heard the expression "Gardeners and Architects" from a dude in my critique group. My interest was piqued right away, especially when I realized that this was such a better way of saying "Pantsers and Plotters." I'm a gardener, myself, preferring to take a seed of an idea and watch it grow as I write. Sometimes I wish I was more of an architect, though.
To have the ability to plan ahead, draw up a blueprint of my story, the characters, the plot, the settings in advance, well, that would be pretty cool. The thing is, usually I have a tiny idea and I just can't get anywhere with taking that little seed into planning in a linear fashion. I just have to plant that seed and watch it grow. I don't mind weeding, trimming back the wild shoots that want to take over, or any of that. In fact, sometimes it's one of the runners shooting off into unknown territory that becomes the story I was looking for all along. It's an organic process for me, though I am not against editing and changing things later. The best part is seeing what blooms.
Some folks need to have the entire house drawn up first, with a list of materials, cost-planning and all, before they can start building a story. These are the architects who may or may not do a little gardening on the side. There is nothing to say that one can't do or be both, of course. I mean, think of all those gardeners that plan the garden in advance up to the smallest detail, right? And there are plenty of architects that make changes as they go after realizing that the original blueprint just doesn't work in the real world.
Which one are you? Or are you both?
Now for the links. Meradeth Housten's book
Colors Like Memories has just come out and there is an awesome contest going on where you can win a copy of the book and other prizes, including a first page and query critique over at
Fresh as a Daisy blog. Go check it out!
Song of the Day:
Okay, I just have to say that the freaky cat image is not the image I originally saved for this. I'm using a new free image site and it was wildflowers just a few minutes ago, even in the preview. How strange. But I'm keeping the cat, just 'cuz I'm a gardener and he's sort of cute.
ReplyDeleteI am totally an 'architect' so to speak. I need to have EVERYTHING planned, or I simply freeze up. I sorta wish I was a 'gardener'. It would be nice to not have to worry too much in advance and just sorta let the story reveal itself to you.
ReplyDeleteIt's so nice to meet you! Following along :)
The only problem is sometimes when gardening, things die if you don't look after them - it's a pretty high maintenance job. I think gardeners have to be pretty organised too! I'm a bit of both - I like to have a vague "blueprint" but I'm always crossing things out and adding stuff.
ReplyDeleteI love the creepy cat! :D I'm a gardener, too. I'd love to be an architect, but I usually just have a vague idea of where I'm going with a story.
ReplyDeleteThis is SO clever. :)
ReplyDeleteI *wish* I was more of a plotter... but for some reason, plotting takes the magic out of it for me... I'm getting better at planning, but it's tough! I'm totally on the Gardening side with you ;)
I hear bells, whistles, fireworks! I'm your one hundredth follower! Yay!
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, I have skater dude son too! Being a writer too that moves with the story, with of course a pretty good idea where its going, I still envy those who lay things down ahead of time. Lots less weeding! : )
That's pretty exciting. You totally deserve a prize! If I wasn't so poor, I'd send you one. Hopefully my blog posts will suffice until I do a real contest. One of my goals for the year...
DeleteAww, that you have a skater dude in your life, too. They can be quite inspiring. My son takes all my profile pics, too, which is fun.
I'm a gardener, dirty hands, muddy knees, the works. I do, however, read the seed packets before planting so I know what I'm growing. And I try to keep the rows straight and not let the garden spill over into the lawn.
ReplyDeleteI'm an architect, but only really so if I'm planning on writing something that will be part of a series. If it's for a book that stands alone, I'll still do some plotting, but it's not nearly in the depth I do for a book in a series.
ReplyDeleteNever heard the terms, gardener and architect before, but I agree, they're better than plotter and pantser. Where did 'Pantser' come from anyway?
Love these terms! I'm a pantster, but I'm trying to be a little more of a plotter - so far, er.... well, we'll see how it goes. I miss those weeds!
ReplyDeleteThank you for following and linking to my contest! New follower!
Thanks for dropping by my blog - neighbor :)
ReplyDeleteWe have way too much in common - I see from your previous post you like Dune, and you have a cat for a favicon!
I like this new take on plotter/pantser. I guess in this new language I can call myself a landscape gardener. I have to plot out the big picture, but the fine detail grows organically.
I'm definitely an architect, but I've found that even tho I start a first draft with a full set of blue prints, the story itself gets changed drastically once I"m finished. And that's ok... cuz I see it as redecorating the house. lol... yes I'm a total cheeseball. But i do like the analogy of gardener and architect--never heard it before. :)
ReplyDeleteYou have a fabulous blog! I’m an author and illustrator and I made some awards to give fellow bloggers whose sites I enjoy. I want to award you with one of my homemade awards: the Creative Blog Award. There are no pass along requirements. This is just to reward you for all the hard work you do!
ReplyDeleteGo to http://astorybookworld.blogspot.com/p/awards.html and pick up your award.
~Deirdra