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Architects vs Gardeners
Architects vs Gardeners
Architects vs Gardeners
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Overview

No matter what you thought about the end of the HBO version of Game of Thrones, it’s worth considering George R.R. Ma ...

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Et quidem iure fortasse, sed tamen non gravissimum est testimonium multitudinis. Quodsi vultum tibi, si incessum fingeres, quo gravior viderere, non esses tui similis;

At Zeno eum non beatum modo, sed etiam divitem dicere ausus est. Negat esse eam, inquit, propter se expetendam. Duo Reges: constructio interrete. An est aliquid, quod te sua sponte delectet? Nec tamen ullo modo summum pecudis bonum et hominis idem mihi videri potest.

Quae hic rei publicae vulnera inponebat, eadem ille sanabat. Theophrastus mediocriterne delectat, cum tractat locos ab Aristotele ante tractatos? Incommoda autem et commoda-ita enim estmata et dustmata appello-communia esse voluerunt, paria noluerunt. Hic ego: Pomponius quidem, inquam, noster iocari videtur, et fortasse suo iure. Mihi, inquam, qui te id ipsum rogavi? Hinc ceteri particulas arripere conati suam quisque videro voluit afferre sententiam. Placet igitur tibi, Cato, cum res sumpseris non concessas, ex illis efficere, quod velis? Fortitudinis quaedam praecepta sunt ac paene leges, quae effeminari virum vetant in dolore.

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Actionable Takeaways
  • Understand your preference and strengths. 

Do you naturally lean towards being an Archite ...

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Non est ista, inquam, Piso, magna dissensio. ALIO MODO. Multoque hoc melius nos veriusque quam Stoici. Vide, quantum, inquam, fallare, Torquate. Ad corpus diceres pertinere-, sed ea, quae dixi, ad corpusne refers? Idne consensisse de Calatino plurimas gentis arbitramur, primarium populi fuisse, quod praestantissimus fuisset in conficiendis voluptatibus? Duo Reges: constructio interrete. Fortasse id optimum, sed ubi illud: Plus semper voluptatis? Et quidem, inquit, vehementer errat;

Collige omnia, quae soletis: Praesidium amicorum. Consequens enim est et post oritur, ut dixi. Esse enim quam vellet iniquus iustus poterat inpune. Solum praeterea formosum, solum liberum, solum civem, stultost; Qui autem de summo bono dissentit de tota philosophiae ratione dissentit. Quod si ita se habeat, non possit beatam praestare vitam sapientia. Hoc tu nunc in illo probas. Omnia contraria, quos etiam insanos esse vultis. Cuius quidem, quoniam Stoicus fuit, sententia condemnata mihi videtur esse inanitas ista verborum.

Multoque hoc melius nos veriusque quam Stoici. Hic nihil fuit, quod quaereremus. Hoc non est positum in nostra actione. In his igitur partibus duabus nihil erat, quod Zeno commutare gestiret. Nobis aliter videtur, recte secusne, postea; Quaesita enim virtus est, non quae relinqueret naturam, sed quae tueretur.

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Architects vs Gardeners is featured in these playbooks:
Limitations

The main limitation of this model is when it is applied as a binary choice when in reality there is an interplay and overlap between the approaches. In addition, some might argue that even though some people appear to be Gardeners, they actually have an implicit sense of planning that is not being stated or so consciously surfaced. 

In Practice

George R.R. Martin as a Gardener.

Martin points out that he leans more towards being a gardener, and describes how he started writing Game of Thrones having imagined a scene of a family finding wolves. He had a broad idea of the setting but effectively had to define it as he wrote, only creating the map when he was quite far into the story. 

This fascinating Twitter thread by academic Daniel Silvermint argues that the failure of the final season of Game of Thrones was because Martin was a Gardener, yet the show writers had to write the final season without his text and relied on an Architect approach to draw the story to a conclusion. 

J.K. Rowling as an architect. 

Rowling used what has become known as a ‘story grid’ to plot out her stories. The following is part of her outline for Order of the Phoenix. 

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Origins & Resources

This concept is from George R.R. Martin’s description of writing approaches which he outlines in this quote:  

“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.”

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