Photo Courtesy of Johanna’s Kitchen
Sometimes Simple is Best
A batch of homemade chicken soup sparked a thought about writing this week.
Like a Comfortable Hug
Chicken noodle soup can feel like a comfortable hug. Sometimes the simple soup is all the meal you need. I’d recently received soup ingredients from a dear sister in Christ. She’d nicely separated the ingredients into individual bags. Any time I want, I can go to my freezer, pop those lovelies into a pan along with a bit of chicken, my Dutch soup package and water, and not long after, I have a soothing meal.
Extra Doesn’t Always Mean Better
But, last week, I thought to add rice when I’d already added the usual noodles. I don’t know what I was thinking. And I don’t remember how much, but in my desire for more, the soup thickened into an unwanted casserole and had changed the entire dynamic of my soup.
Some Ingredients are Dispensable
This can happen in writing too. Do I throw in handfuls of adjectives and adverbs that slow the pace, weigh the reader down? Mark Twain said, “If you catch an adjective, kill it.” Of course, we still need them, but sparingly. My unwanted casserole brought home this point.
To learn more about unnecessary words in writing, I reached for the book, ‘Stein on Writing’ by Sol Stein, author of how to grow a novel. He writes that most adjectives and adverbs are dispensable. Superfluous words and phrases soften prose. That flab, or this week I’d translated that into thickener, is the enemy of every writer. We all have favorites that add nothing to the story. So, in the future, I’ll need to keep a lookout for my favorite ‘thickener’ words and exchange them for stronger verbs.
Walking With the Lord is Simple
In my quiet time, I considered my relationship with the Lord. This past week, have I added unwanted ‘thickener’ that made my walk with Him heavier? The Lord writes in Matthew 11:28-30 “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart: and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.”
My takeaway
In writing, I hope to use strong verbs, remove superfluous adjectives and adverbs.
And this week I hope to remember that when I’m tired, and struggling, I can keep my walk simple, come to the Lord for relief. I liken it to my soup conundrum, not to add the superfluous. To simply come to Him.
He’s the giver of rest. We can trust Him to help us do the next thing.
Blessings,
Johanna
