While scrolling through Twitter a couple of years ago, I stopped to read an interesting post by an Australian songwriter. He called himself SpaceMarch, and at the time he had 252,000 Twitter followers (nice). Other than working with words, I didn’t know how much I’d have in common with a guy who writes lyrics for songs, but I followed him and read several of his posts.
The Brainstorm…and then Nothing
After reading the post titled “The Five Year Song,” I realized he and I had something in common after all: We could both receive a clear brainstorm for a song or story, emotionally jot down the opening lines, plus several ideas for subsequent verses or chapters—all at a lightning pace—only to find that it would take us years to finish the project. The song mentioned in this post took him five long years to complete.
This has happened to me numerous times. Not with songs, but stories. I have a drawer of stories, both long and short, all of which I began with great enthusiasm, quickly writing an exquisite scene or two with memorable characters, and which I’ve never completed. Some I allow to languish in a file cabinet or computer directory, virtually forgotten. Others I annually pull out of their dark corners, peruse, smile or nod, maybe edit or add a few lines, then unceremoniously return to their places in obscurity, all the while hoping for the day I’ll receive the requisite inspiration to finish them.
Plotters, Pantsers, and Gardeners
In 2011, during an interview for The Guardian, George R.R. Martin said he believed there are two types of fiction writers. “There are the architects and the gardeners,” he said. “The architects plan everything ahead of time; they have a complete blueprint before they nail the first board.”
For example, he noted that J.K. Rowling spent three years outlining the main plots for all of her ‘Harry Potter’ books before she began writing the first one, The Sorcerer’s Stone.
Martin said he knew he didn’t fall into the architect category. He admits trying to outline a book and then writing from the outline, but he just couldn’t make it work. For one thing, he found it boring to write from an outline, adding that he’s downright proud to be a ‘gardener’.
“The gardeners dig a hole, drop in a seed, and water it,” he said. He claims that gardeners might know what type of seed they just planted, even the genre, but until the plant actually sprouts and grows limbs, they aren’t sure what it’ll look like.
This level of uncertainty is fine with him. He remains interested in the story and the characters and he doesn’t get bored, even when his novel grows to 1,200 pages.
The Importance of Enthusiasm
I don’t know if most songwriters outline their songs before putting pen to paper or finger to keyboard, but I sympathize with SpaceMarch for losing his enthusiasm for the project that became his five-year song. Enthusiasm for a story or its characters is vital for any author, but especially for gardeners (and pantsers) who don’t have an outline to fall back on if the initial vigor or inspiration fades.
In this New Year of 2025, may we all dispatch our song, poem, and story ideas with ease!
Write on,
Ann
