Volume 3, Issue 21: On Gardeners and Architects
This is a paid subscriber-only issue of Enthusiastic Encouragement & Dubious Advice. Please do not forward this email. I appreciate your support and respect for my work!
Hi friends! Something I’m celebrating this week is that I managed to cook acorn squash. Nicole and I had tried years ago and it was so incredibly difficult to cut that we gave up and yelled, “Never again!” Well, flash-forward six years and here I am, trying again. I looked up some how-to videos and it seems as though the tricks are to go slowly, use a sawing motion, and be patient. Aside from, of course, using a long-bladed and very sharp knife. I was shocked at how well it went when I wasn’t trying to rush it. It got me asking myself about what else I may have given up on years ago that I may want to try again. Knitting and crochet come to mind. We’ll see! Anyway, this week I’m actually going to talk about something else.
One of my favorite things to do is to take a thing (a tool, a framework, a kitchen utensil, etc.) that is meant for a particular use and figure out other uses for it and use it in a different way. I did this the other day when I was talking to my therapist and I did exactly this and I want to share it with you in case you find it helpful.
Some (many?) writers may think of themselves as falling into one of two categories: Pantsers or Plotters (or sometimes a combo, Plantser). You can read definitions of those here and while you’re at it, an article about the unnecessarily exaggerated divide between Pantsers and Plotters here. The short versions are like this:
Pantsers are writers who write by the seat of their pants (hence the name). They just sit down to write and let the story tell itself. Maybe they are just running on a couple ideas and a general feel. Or they have an idea of a character and as they write, they let the character lead where the story goes. Minimal to no outlining and planning. Plotters are writers who will outline, map, and plan the exact journey the story (or series of books) is going to take. They know where they are going and how they are going to get there before they sit and start putting pen to paper for the first draft. Plantsers are writers who are a combination of the two. Some plotting so there’s a basic idea of what’s happening but leaving space for pantsing, just to keep things zesty.
Another way this framework is described comes from George R.R Martin. Yes, I am sorry I am quoting this person yet here we are:
“I think there are two types of writers, the architects and the gardeners. The architects plan everything ahead of time, like an architect building a house. They know how many rooms are going to be in the house, what kind of roof they're going to have, where the wires are going to run, what kind of plumbing there's going to be. They have the whole thing designed and blueprinted out before they even nail the first board up. The gardeners dig a hole, drop in a seed and water it. They kind of know what seed it is, they know if they planted a fantasy seed or mystery seed or whatever. But as the plant comes up and they water it, they don't know how many branches it's going to have, they find out as it grows. And I'm much more a gardener than an architect.”
I’ve seen this play out in how people live their lives. Some will architect the hell out of it to get the spouse, 2.5 children, and a house in a neighborhood with well-resourced schools. Or they have their plans to get multiple degrees, do a postdoc, get a faculty position, then get tenure. Or they’ll hustle and grind strategically to climb that corporate ladder. I know the gardeners as well who study what they love and go where the wind takes them. Some take every opportunity to explore where they can and create what they are able to create.
I’ve started using this lens on myself to think about how I move through life and tackle creative and professional goals. Depending on the situation, I can be either a gardener or an architect. From childhood through my first year of college, I was an architect. I had it all figured out. I was deliberate about the high school I went to and the college I chose because my plan was to get a degree in mechanical engineering (minor in math) and then be an Imagineer for Walt Disney Imagineering. I was going to design rides. I even met the Imagineering recruiter my freshman year of college and she gave me her card and told me to call her when I graduated. Bing, bang, boom.
But then I left engineering altogether (another story for another time) and I was utterly lost. What was I if not a walking calculator? What was I if I wasn’t building stuff? I was an architect without a blueprint, without even a plot of land to build on. I realized that being an ‘architect’ was stressing me the fuck out so I became more of a gardener. Trying different things, seeing what I could plant and what would grow from it. Fucked around. Got a minor in musical theatre performance and sang at the Hollywood Bowl a few times. Went to bartending school. Taught sex education. Got a Master’s in Library Science. Started writing for Book Riot. Each of those took me to places in life I didn’t expect/plan to be and sprouted relationships I hold dear to my heart.
Lately, though, I’ve been feeling a bit of, “What next?” I’ve been chatting with my therapist and I brought up the “gardener vs. architect” framework and mentioned that I’ve been going the way of the gardener for the most part the past 23 years. Not for everything. I can architect the shit out of some things, like moving back to the Bay Area. I knew the job I wanted, I knew what I wanted in an apartment and location, I blueprinted THE SHIT out of it all and we worked it out according to plan.
Maybe right now what I’m lacking is a clear goal. Maybe it’s time to quit running on caffeine, vibes, and memes. Thankfully, my therapist leans toward being an architect and perhaps this is the key to getting unstuck: If you’re a gardener/pantser and feeling stuck, ask yourself, “What would an architect/plotter do?” Or the other way, if you’re an architect/plotter and you find yourself in a place that you no longer want to be (physically, emotionally, metaphorically), maybe you need a bit of the spontaneity and freedom of a gardener/pantser. I think each of us has the capacity for both and we just bend naturally toward one or the other. Taking the opportunity to look at things from the other side is rarely a bad idea and maybe by doing so you’ll find something that surprises or even inspires you.
That’s it for this week! You can shop any books I’ve mentioned in this newsletter at my affiliate shop, The Infophile’s Bookshop, and support independent bookstores. If you want to send me some snail mail, you can find me at P.O. Box 21481, Oakland, CA 94620-1481. If you are a paid subscriber and would like for me to send you some happy mail, feel free to give me your address.
If you enjoy this newsletter, here are ways to show your support for my writing and resource curation:
That’s it for this week! You can shop many books I’ve mentioned in this newsletter at my affiliate shop, The Infophile’s Bookshop, and support independent bookstores. In fact, any Bookshop, Amazon, or Etsy links in this newsletter are affiliate links so if you shop through those, it helps support my work. Or you can leave me a tip on Ko-fi, Paypal, or Venmo.
If you want to send me some snail mail, you can find me at P.O. Box 21481, Oakland, CA 94620-1481.
You can find our podcast, Enthusiastic Encouragement & Dubious Advice on Apple Podcasts, YouTube, Spotify, and wherever else you get your podcasts.