“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 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.”
Screenwriting : George R.R. Martin by Zane Kubheka
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3 people like this
And of course he makes being a gardener sound more impressive than an architect.
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In reality its not advisable to be purely the gardener... A bit of both architect and gardener traits would be good (I think) subjective
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I agree Zane, and I practice a bit of both. I plant the seed, but I also put a few stakes up to help in the growth. :)
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What a great Quote. I never heard it like that but man that makes so much sense. I guess I'm more of an architect. You have such an amazing perspective on screenwriting, Zane. So what genre of screenplays do you write?
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I don't think I fit a specific genre. Maybe a mix of character based and adventure or thriller depending on your perspective, but thanks for the kind words.
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Brian, I was asking Zane but it's cool. You both agree on the same point so the compliment applies to you too. But your welcome, man.
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Totally an architect -- in fact, I'm trying to be a little more gardener. Sometimes you can be too organized. :-)
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But I believe it is also important to master a genre before branching out... It's no point becoming a "Jack of all trades and master of none..."
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Don't classify me, read me. I'm a writer, not a genre.... giggles
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Not a fantasy person...I don't really enjoy watching Game of Thrones and have never read his books, but George R.R. Martin is a master at what he does, an inspiration in that sense. He's got the craft down. I'm a gardener as well. Tried to be an architect for a long time, but it's just too easy to use research and prewriting as forms of procrastination.
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As a professional architect for almost three decades, you can guess what kind of writer I am.
5 people like this
I'm an architect, and a wrecking ball
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I love this site. It makes me laugh. I guess I'm an architect who flowers up along the way.
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Collier, as a writer, couldn't an architect be a gardener as well. Bet when you started, you hadn't planned on penning.
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Gardener. Whatever I plan I change. I get the most ideas when I am typing. So I plan the big five plot points, then fill in from there,.
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I’m a gardener who thinks he is an architect and ends up throwing away all the blueprints by the time he gets to page eleven...
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Gardner, each branch I write I always find another scenario if I go left instead of right, so I replant the branch into another pot for a new plant
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I'm a gardener. Then I attempt to build a greenhouse over my plants. Somehow, it works.
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Patricia Poulos, I've actually tried to be a gardener (a pantser) but I needed more structure. Years of training I guess!
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Love this site - makes me laugh!
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Another Zombie thread. As a screenwriter, I think both concepts are needed to bring a compelling story to life.From the gardener pov, the story germinates and grows from the seed but that living breathing story also needs some sort of support trellis/structure, That's the architect's doing.
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My dumb ass just architects a garden every year. Some seeds don't even get planted and sometimes I'll put a new crop where an old one was. It is a somewhat organized poly culture versus mono culture garden though. The more that blooms... well that just makes me a brighter more diverse blooming idiot.
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Heaven forbid that someone catching up on forum posts should resurrect a week-old post and get a load of abuse for their trouble.
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When I write a script, I am God. I create a world and fill it with people, and they tell a story with their lives. It doesn’t take long to discover Gods dilemma he instigated by creating self determined beings. My characters don’t do always what I want. The flaws and talents I imbue them with are what makes the story entertaining. Or not.
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Greg, careful He might here you - then where will we all be?
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Sorry about the misspelled... hear. Little difficult typing in bed.
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If god is omnipotent, doesn't that make it impossible to do anything without him already knowing about it?
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When I am writing a script, I feel my most creative when I tell a story. I think of my writing as a storyteller telling a group of campers a bunch of stories around a campfire.
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I write in a sort of hybrid between the two. I have a basic structure of where I know I want the story to go, and then I become a gardener within that. My favorite part of this process is learning who your characters are becoming, and it seems like they write their parts on their own. I often come up with the best conflicts and most comical scenarios this way.
lovely thing to discuss about. only a Gardener in this context can write Blockbuster because it must be raw from beginning. but without creative architecture you cannot find way into this world.
I'm more of a dreamer. In the silence of the morning or while walking or driving long distances, I visualize a story idea, then once it takes root in my brain, I continue to visualize it start to finish as if it were a dream. I hear the people, I see the people, I see the landscape. Then when it it feels all the ends are tied up, like I've mentally ironed out the glitches, I start writing. And it floods out. Afterwards, I sit on it for a month. When i return, that's when things that aren't quite right jump out and the rewriting begins. When I believe its the best I can do, I send it off to a contest and get a judge's critique. And then I rewrite according to the industry's requirements for a 'marketable' script. BUT I always hold that original flood-out in my sacred file and keep a copy for ME.