It's fitting, I think, that I'm sitting down to write the first post of this series after a fit of May rain. The air hangs with the scent of fresh soil. The clouds blush slate. We're closing in on the perfect time of year to plant gardens, and that's exactly what's so fitting—we're closing in.
We're closing in on an era where every writer has five names. Allow me to demonstrate: I'm Brianna De Man (1), I write fantasy (2) for a YA audience (3), I'm a plantser (4), and I'm on Bookstagram (5).
Humans like to organize. It makes things easier to understand, and it helps us form associations so we feel like we know you before actually getting to know you...or we use this to escape having to know you at all. I talk more about the influence of labels on my guest post with Honeycomb Author Services. Today, though, let's get one thing straight: I'm not just a set of five names, and neither are you.
Book Botany
"Book Botany" is really what we're discussing today. It's the idea that the way you think about writing is something worth exploring. Haven't you ever wondered why you get stuck on that manuscript of yours? That stubborn chapter that just won't cooperate. That one character arc. Have you ever felt burned out from writing in general? I quit after a war with burnout, and I'm just starting to dip my toes back into the water—because of Book Botany.
Today I want to introduce you to a spectrum I created to help writers know themselves better: the Scribe and the Artist.
A Closer Look
Each of these types exist on what I call a "benign spectrum," which means that neither "option" is bad:
People can exist anywhere on this spectrum and write beautiful things! You're allowed to be both a Scribe and an Artist—and maybe for different reasons. The trick is whether you're balancing elements from each in the right way for your story.
Whereas Scribes write like they're recording "historical" events, Artists express events with their vision in mind.
If you already know what "type" you might tend toward most often, feel free to scroll past the other—or both if you know what I'm talking about already! But for those of you who want to zoom in, let's talk:
The Scribe
Scribes write like they're recording real events because they think about their story as if it's history. Their characters almost feel like real people, and it's important to tell the story like it happened. If you "see" your character do this or perceive that she felt a certain way, it wouldn't be realistic to have her do something else, right?
Whenever I hear someone talk about "vibing" their character, or "feeling out" the way a character might act in a given situation, I'm reminded of the Scribe. Because they subconsciously treat their characters like real people, they're keenly aware of their personalities. You could probably ask them how their main character feels about ketchup chips, and they'd know instantly.
On the other hand, for how well they plan out their characters, Scribes can sometimes be a little erratic with their plot. See, they're waiting on those darn characters, aren't they? To a Scribe, history—plot—doesn't unfold naturally by planning events. Characters "make history" when they decide to do things. Sometimes things just seem to get carried away on their own.
Scribes are awesome at portraying emotional significance, and their tenacity for "realism" makes their writing feel natural. But with other things...you can see how this way of thinking might cause problems.
The Artist
Artists express events while maintaining the integrity of their creative vision. To them, the entire tale is a work of sacred art. The full piece itself needs to be respected. Artists know that if they aren't careful, they'll lose the vision they first had in mind when they started Chapter One.
If I hear about a writer doing prep work before writing, I think about the Artist. Because they're so mindful of the big picture, Artists are master puppeteers; they hold countless threads, and they know what each one does when pulled. They'll string their blissful readers right into a well-crafted plot twist they'd set in motion 70 pages before. No one saw that betrayal coming, but oh, how it clicks so painfully now!
When it comes to characterization, though, Artists can sometimes struggle to see past the role a character plays in their story. You're the "hero" or the "villain"—or maybe the sidekick voice of reason nobody seems to listen to.... Either way, Artists need their characters to do the things the story needs them to do. If they don't cooperate, I hear there's a closet down the hall full of duct tape.
Artists make their stories beautifully unified and consistent, and their regard for their vision makes that happen. However, even a master puppeteer can get tangled.
Planting the Seed
That's what I want to do for you today: plant the seed. The Scribe and the Artist are new ideas. It might take some adjusting, and like I said, I'm not a "five name" kind of person. Neither am I a "Scribe/Artist" person.
The beauty of this model is that it's completely fluid. I tend to think of my characters like a Scribe, but I think of plot arcs like an Artist. I want to remember the Artist more when I next think about my storytelling, and I know I do best characterizing like a Scribe.
Book Botany lies in that exact process of:
Finding what works for you
Exploring what might be effective for your story
Making goals for what might serve you best next
Today, planting the seed means just thinking about it. What tendencies might you have? What implications does that bring? Could this give you reasons for why you do the things you do, or why that chapter is so stubborn?
If you haven't already, I'd encourage you to check out my Personality Test for Authors. It'll give you a glimpse of the world we're going to be diving into for this series, along with a couple practical tips! We'll also be talking about it in a more personal way on my Instagram (how does your main character feel about ketchup chips?).
What do you think about this spectrum? What tendencies from either "side" might you have? How might the way you think about writing feeds into the way you actually write? Let's discuss in the comments! Next time, I want to talk about steps you can take to find out what the right balance for your story might be.
Until then,