Image by JamesDeMers from Pixabay
In world-class museums like the Louvre, and the Vatican Museum, and even in places like the Palace of Versailles, you can see the most detailed and absolutely immense tapestries made up of millions of individual threads. They are hung on walls and are bigger than life. They depict scenes from history or meaningful moments in religious tradition. They’re filled with meaning and artistry. Incredible works of art.
As we move through life we are weaving our own tapestries that depict our understanding of the world. The more you learn, experience, and observe the bigger and more beautiful your tapestry becomes. Each thing learned is another thread and over time your threads will connect to form a larger picture.
I’ve made a point of collecting threads and I’ve found a new one recently that I want to share with you.
The Architect Vs The Gardener
Famed writer George RR Martin (author of Game of Thrones and the Song of Ice and Fire book series) says “there are two types of writers, the architects and the gardeners.” He goes on to say that the architect has their story planned out before they start writing. They know where the plot is going, how many characters, and who those characters are, because they’ve written a thorough outline that covers each detail. The architect is a master at planning and preparation and therefore produces very reliable and consistent outcomes.
On the other hand, the gardener is someone who plants a seed, waters it, and watches it grow. They will know vaguely what type of seed they planted (fantasy, horror, historical fiction, etc) and may have a guess at what the end result will look like, but they won’t know for sure until the seed grows into a fully mature plant. When the gardener writes they feel as though they are discovering the story, the plot, and the characters. They don’t know what will happen next unless they sit down to cultivate the story, to water it, to write it.
As with all frameworks of this style (where people are bucketed into 1 of 2 categories), there is much grey area in the middle. It’s more a spectrum than a binary. The framework is only meant to be used to glean some insight by providing one possible explanation of a person’s behavior or motivations. That person might be you, but it could be anyone. I’m not presenting this framework to you as a rule but as a possibility.
In my own observations, of myself and other writers, Martin’s framework certainly holds up. When I write, I’m more a gardener than an architect. I do occasionally write towards a conclusion that I’ve already reached, and I am capable of thoroughly planned and considered writing projects, but I find that when left to my own devices, I enjoy starting a piece with a kernel of an idea and seeing where it takes me. It feels like a creative process of discovery. This isn’t at all meant to pass judgment on anyone who identifies more with the architect. I think there are clear advantages to both ways of being. Many days I wish I was more of the architect. Especially when I’m sitting, staring at a blank page, without even a kernel of an idea to go with, or when I reach a point in a piece where I’ve no idea what happens next and I’ve painted myself into a corner. Neither end of the spectrum is inherently better.
As I’ve thought about Martin’s framework, I’ve realized it’s a useful framework to apply to more than just writers or writing. I think you could apply it to every person you meet and you might learn something about who they are and how they prefer to approach the world. I suspect that the gardener vs. architect framework is also a proxy for determining if someone is a linear or non-linear thinker. If true, you would see both architects and linear thinkers approaching problem-solving through a very logical and step-by-step method. Whereas the gardners and non-linear thinkers would take a more creative approach to problem-solving, leaning more heavily on intuition and making connections between seemingly unrelated things.
Are you a gardener, or an architect? What about your partner, your best friend, or your boss? It’s worth thinking about. You might learn something that can help you deepen the relationships in your life. Understanding other people is a good step towards developing more empathy. In considering this framework, you may even learn something about yourself and how you approach the world and the people and problems it contains.
Ultimately, I hope that you’ll take this thread and add it to your collection.
And I hope that you’ll find it useful in weaving your own tapestry of the world and your place within it.
Happy weaving.
MW 