PART 2: 10 Ways Writing and Architecture are Two Nuts from the Same Tree

daleyrose
Sep 18, 2016
7 min read

Holy cow, y'all. I have had a CRAZY six weeks, and apologize for my delayed Part 2. I know you all have been chomping at the bit. The semester started and students came back, we moved into a new house, the new washer in our new-to-the-world house flooded on the second floor and ran through the can lights into the first floor and now there's a whole bunch of the house that's been dried and put back together..... So I apologize, but I'm back!! I hope you're still with me!

Welcome back, friends! In the last post, I shared five ways that I think writing and architecture are similar - in an attempt to calm my nerves during this transition between creative fields. I’m not sure it worked just yet, but I have five more that I’d like to share.

You can find the earlier blog on this here. As a reminder, the first five were:

1. Blank pages: The beginning of the creative process. Terrifying and awesome.

2. Iterations: Refining and layering to make your work the very best it can be. It gets

better with each go-round.

3. Long hours: How much do we love what we do?!?! Sometimes way too much. And

we can't sleep because of it, either on purpose, or because our characters (or

buildings) won't stop talking to us.

4. Critiques: Feedback is so good. A good critique is worth its weight on gold, I swear.

Love them.

5. Do your homework: Good research can be your best friend. I believe that research

feeds creativity. (And this isn't just because I'm trained in research, though it

probably helps.)

6. Fear and Nerves

I don’t have the intense ego that some Starchitects have (check out some of them here - I bet you recognize some of their works), so I’ve always been worried that my designs, work, stories, etc., will suck when they’re released out to the world. For an architect, unveiling your design, or presenting it to the first time to your clients, is like putting your work out to your critique group or your beta readers. It’s exciting and terrifying, all at the same time. And that’s just really one of the drafts, right? It’s not the final product.

Holy cow, the fear of how the final product will do. Yikes.

(I should note, though, that PLENTY of designers have plenty of ego enough for everyone and have no fear. But that's for another post on how the fields differ. I'll get to that.)

There’s a whole other round of fear when it’s time for the final product to be revealed to the world. When the client finally takes possession of the building and moves in. How did it all come together? How is it going to be received by the people that matter? It’s like an author’s Launch Day!! And who doesn’t get nervous on Launch Day? I imagine I will. I’m getting nervous now, just thinking about it. Time to move on.

7. A Tribe

This part is awesome. Aside from actually creating something (that’s next), I think the tribe might be one of my favorite commonalities between the two fields. As noted by Sebastian Junger in his book Tribe: On Homecoming and Belonging, “We have a strong instinct to belong to small groups defined by clear purpose and understanding--‘tribes.’” This is so true and so perfect for both writers and architects.

There are jackwagons in both groups, to be sure, but by and large the people that I’ve encountered in both are incredible. They are resourceful, supportive, insightful, and ready to help you succeed. They are ready to share, collaborate, support, and lift you up.

Most of you are probably visiting courtesy of one such group - Katharine Grub's 10 Minute Novelists. (If you aren't from there, do yourself a favor and visit!) When I first started dipping a toe into this whole writing endeavor, I joined up. Quite literally one of the best things I've ever done.

Find your people. In architecture, there are design geeks and history geeks and planning geeks in so many veins that you can certainly find people to support and enrich your passion. These people become (became, for me) my best friends, stood up front of both sides of the aisle at our wedding, and are to this day pillars of support in all my craziness. As I've experienced so far, writers are the same. Always ready with inspiration, advice, and you can do its.

Thank the heavens for tribes.

8. Creating something that lasts

Another bit that is fascinating, and also shared by other creative fields, is that we both create something that lasts. Buildings these days are said to be built for a lifespan of fifty years (though I think it should be longer because fifty years in the span of a community or culture is nothing), and books obviously can last much longer than that. Even with e-readers and digital copies of books, writers produce an actual thing that can be purchased, given, shared - and even better, can enrich lives. It can entertain, cure loneliness and boredom, help to explore new worlds, foster empathy for others, reduce stress, incite imagination, and prepare you for both failure and success.

Authors can do that for people. Again - our creativity can do that for people!

Architecture is equally amazing. Architects make spaces that can inspire reverence, awe, sadness, and elation. Spaces can be designed to enhance health and well-being, connect to nature, engage students for better learning, and extend comfort and health of the elderly. Material selections can soothe with a touch, or creep you out with textures.

The power of a building by the general population is underestimated, as are the impressions of that building. I hope you all have had some experience with a really fantastic work of architecture. Whether it's Thorncrown Chapel by E. Fay Jones, pretty much anything by Lake|Flato , or some fascinating curves from Frank Gehry , they will inspire you.

9. Everyone thinks they can do it, like magic

I know you know this. You’ve probably even heard it before. “I think I might write a book someday.” Hell, I’ve even SAID that, years ago. But when the rubber meets the road, there’s more to it that just typing words. There are endless articles and posts on this, primarily dealing with honing the craft. For writers, it’s not just about sitting down and allowing the words to flow from your fingertips. (I wish it was this easy.) There’s skill to writing a compelling story, and skill to crafting lovable (and hate-able) characters. Fellow author Olivia Ard recently published a series of blog posts on what we as authors can learn about character development from the tv show Parenthood. There are ways to do things. It’s not just writing 80,000 words. Understanding these nuances and honoring the craft, I believe, is what really makes a writer.

There is a very similar theme in architecture. Everyone thinks they can design things. Particularly buildings. "I can design this house." Technically, yes. You probably could design a house, but can you design a house well. Even the term “architect.” Half the time when you hear the word being used, they aren’t even referring to an actual architect. An Information Architect, or a Systems Architect. We could look at the actual definition of “architect,” but even that goes awry. The first definition is “a person who engages in the profession of architecture.” Yes, this is true. This is perfect. But then, on down to the third definition: “the deviser, maker, or creator of anything.” WHAT?!?!? No. Just no. If I write words on a paper, does that make me a writer? No, I don't think it does, really. The same way that “making anything” does not make someone an architect.

And sweet sassy, let’s not even talk about the term designer. People go to school to be interior designers, industrial designers, and graphic designers, folks. Some people have an innate talent, and I will give them that, but simply watching HGTV doesn’t make you a designer. And filling a page with words doesn't necessarily make you a writer.

10. No one knows one

I’m thinking the writers might be able to identify with this, though I’m still getting into the whole writing culture, so I’m not sure. What I’m NOT talking about here is our tribes. Tribes of writer friends and designer friends that you absolutely must have to stay sane and carry on in your endeavors, because of course you need them and of course you’ll know others in the field that are a part of your tribe.

I’m thinking about the random other people out there that aren’t in our fields. Anyone and everyone. Unless they’re in your immediate family, or in your field, it’s my initial impression that both authors and architects are rare breeds. Although I’ll be honest, as I type this, I’m rethinking it. Maybe there are more authors out there than architects. I think I may need to research this for my next post….

Anyway, even though you know TONS of other writers (or architects), I don’t think most other people so. I take that to mean we are rare and unique. We may overlap with other fields that are everywhere, like nurses and MBAs and builders, and many of us in writing can be more than one thing, or came from somewhere else. And I’m certainly not undermining the importance of any other field or profession. But we are special, and we should be proud of that. I’m trying to get there.

But a great way to end this, since I’m not real sure anymore, is to hear from you. Do you know any architects? Or do you think most of the general public knows writers? Consider your comments a way to help my dig deeper into the field. I really appreciate them!!

So that's what I've got. I think you can begin to see my point, though I'm also certain my list will change a bit after I get deeper into the writing world. What do you think so far? I’d love to hear your thoughts! Let me know in the comments below.

Thank you all for visiting!

I look forward to seeing you back. Until then, write on!