Writing a novel - Gardener or Architect
There are essentially two types of writer - the gardener and the architect.
The architect plans out the novel, working out what happens prior to writing it. The gardener mostly wings it, starting with some ideas and seeing how the story goes as they write it.
At its extreme, an architect will structure the story and plot out every detail, essentially like a real architect painstakingly planning a house. A gardener will do minimal planning, making it up as they go along.
Both approaches have their pros and cons.
The advantage of the architect approach is that the writer knows every detail of the story before they even begin, and can ensure the pace of the story isn't too fast or too slow. The writer remains in control of the story.
A disadvantage is that there is the risk of the story feeling sterile, almost paint by numbers. The characters can feel like their being directed by the plot rather than the other way round. Instead of helping the story, the plan can restrict it from growing.
An advantage of the gardener approach is that the story can feel more natural, more fluid. The writer can almost let the characters decide the plot, can get in their heads and let them direct it. It can feel more organic.
Disadvantages of the gardener approach is that the writer can lose control of the story, can find plot strands that lead nowhere, and the story can very quickly grow out of control. The pacing can suffer as here's no real structure to the story, and the plot may play second fiddle to subplots springing out of nowhere.
There's no real right or wrong way, everyone writes differently. In my opinion it's probably best to strike a balance between the two.
I'm more of an architect, but I don't nail down every detail. I start off writing down some basic details as they come to me, and then do a basic chapter map, roughly summarising the events of that chapter. Sometimes it's only a couple of lines, other times it can be a couple of paragraphs. I try to only nail down what I need to happen in the chapter, so when I write that chapter there is still freedom for it to grow organically. Sometimes what I think will be half a chapter can grow to two chapters.
When writing, what are you?
The architect plans out the novel, working out what happens prior to writing it. The gardener mostly wings it, starting with some ideas and seeing how the story goes as they write it.
At its extreme, an architect will structure the story and plot out every detail, essentially like a real architect painstakingly planning a house. A gardener will do minimal planning, making it up as they go along.
Both approaches have their pros and cons.
The advantage of the architect approach is that the writer knows every detail of the story before they even begin, and can ensure the pace of the story isn't too fast or too slow. The writer remains in control of the story.
A disadvantage is that there is the risk of the story feeling sterile, almost paint by numbers. The characters can feel like their being directed by the plot rather than the other way round. Instead of helping the story, the plan can restrict it from growing.
An advantage of the gardener approach is that the story can feel more natural, more fluid. The writer can almost let the characters decide the plot, can get in their heads and let them direct it. It can feel more organic.
Disadvantages of the gardener approach is that the writer can lose control of the story, can find plot strands that lead nowhere, and the story can very quickly grow out of control. The pacing can suffer as here's no real structure to the story, and the plot may play second fiddle to subplots springing out of nowhere.
There's no real right or wrong way, everyone writes differently. In my opinion it's probably best to strike a balance between the two.
I'm more of an architect, but I don't nail down every detail. I start off writing down some basic details as they come to me, and then do a basic chapter map, roughly summarising the events of that chapter. Sometimes it's only a couple of lines, other times it can be a couple of paragraphs. I try to only nail down what I need to happen in the chapter, so when I write that chapter there is still freedom for it to grow organically. Sometimes what I think will be half a chapter can grow to two chapters.
When writing, what are you?
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