Threads of Commonality – 3

WRITING SHORT STORIES AND ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN

      In my series of articles on ‘ Threads of Commonality ‘, so far I ‘ve explained how writing short stories is similar to painting and singing. The knowledge of painting helps me to decide what to write about and the joy of listening to good music tells me how to structure the contents of the story. But now it is time to tell you how I find it similar to architectural design.

      The act of crafting a story with words is very architectural. Let me explain. An architect tells the story of a building’s design through the medium of drawings and models. A writer tells the story of a person, people, places, event etc. through the medium of words. The germination of the concept behind the architectural design comes from the synthesis of many factors. Some of them are function, context, local vernacular, site conditions etc. Similarly a story germinates in my mind with the synthesis of my general knowledge of the world, observations of life, culture etc. For me globalization is the chief catalyst to the idea behind a story and then to this I add my knowledge of different fields.

      All forms of creativity have three stages. The birth of a child requires conception, gestation and then the birth. A painting needs to be sketched first, then painted and finally framed. Architectural design too has three phases. They are called S.D., D.D. and C.D. Without getting into the detailed technicalities of each phase, I shall try to explain how I apply the craft of these three phases to write a story.

      S.D. – This is the first phase and it is called schematic design. As the name suggests it is the design of the building’s basic scheme, expressed in the form of simple drawings involving the building’s plan, section and elevation. In the S.D. phase of the story, it is a very simple sketch of characters, relationships, places, context, plot etc. It consists of a few words and arrows which direct the flow of narration.

      The D.D. i.e. Design development phase is the stage where most of the work is done. In this phase the drawings begin to crystallize with input from the client, information from the building industry, accurate specifications of materials, fixtures, fenestrations etc. Attention is also paid to the integration of building systems into the design. The drawings are full of information now. The D.D. phase of the story is where all the fun takes place. It is here when I actually write the story. I synthesize the story with imagination into a smooth narration. With the power of just words I attempt to transcend the reader’s mind into a whole new world where the story takes place. The better the story, the more power it has to make the reader forget himself.

      In the C.D. phase, the drawings are finalized in all respects with details for clarity of intent, all relevant information and then well co-ordinated so that any one on the site or office can understand them technically, and lead to the actual construction of the building on the site. If well done, then they look like crystal clear pieces of jewelry, shining with perfection. The C.D. phase of a story deals with polishing it like a piece of sculpture. This involves editing and fine tuning the substance of the story and then polishing it more like an artist. When a painting is done, I view it from a distance to gauge it in its totality. Depending on the assessment, I darken the shadows to uplift profiles or add more details to enhance the appearance etc. Similarly in this phase I read the story as a reader, to check its coherence, weaknesses etc. I may come back to it and refine the text more or dwell over it for days to sort out what it lacks or has excess of.

      In this time period, I make notes of how and where to refine the story, in the margins. When time permits, these notes are applied to the story to finish it in all respects. After this the story resembles food that is ready to be consumed by the reader’s mind. The famous chef Alice Waters has explained that what makes food outstandingly delicious is the last minute tweaking. She says that just before serving the chef should taste it and see if it needs any last minute dash of salt, drop of lemon, pinch of sugar, a little more heat etc. Only once it is gauged and applied should it be served. Similarly, I apply last minute touches to the story like additional foot notes for more clarity etc. and then the story is ready to be shared with the rest of the world.

      Although this is how these two forms of creativity are similar, they operate at very different time scales. But the joy of writing stories is in the simplicity of its medium. With just words and imagination, one can touch many hearts.

Ratna

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