Addition and Subtraction
GCD Newsletter - Monday, April 10th, 2023
As a writer, I’m often faced with the daunting question, “What do I have to add here?” to which the answer is often, unsurprisingly, “nothing.” I choose not to reply to most tweets, or write about certain subjects. I rarely comment on current events, and when I do, it is because I believe it will make a positive difference in someone’s life. In addition, I spend at least as much time subtracting words from my articles as I do writing them out in the first place. In short, I write only a fraction of the words I think, and publish only a fraction of the words I write.
In one of last week’s articles, Lara d’Entremont defends the famous writing tip, “Kill your darlings.” Though often associated with writing fiction, the advice rings true for non-fiction too, as well as life in general. Whether it is cutting out the propensity to micro-manage, delegating tasks to others, deciding to give prominence to a more popular product on your Etsy store when the one you spent thousands of hours on barely gets a look-in, we all sometimes have to “kill our darlings.”
Lara puts this in further context for us as Christians, “don’t hold too tightly to those words of yours…[t]hey weren’t supposed to last forever anyway, and through cutting those beautiful words, you may find that your message points all the more clearly to your Savior.”
Whether you’re a writer or not, this applies to us all. Clay Kannard reminds us in his article from last week that we cannot create anything to add to the gospel, doing so would make it something it is not. A lesson I’ve had to learn and relearn dozens if not hundreds of times so far this year is that God’s power isn’t perfected in my strength, but in my weakness.
Grace and Peace,
Adsum Try Ravenhill is married to Anna and together they are passionate about seeing young men and women discipled within the context of the local church. You can find Adsum through his writing at The Raven’s Writing Desk and you can also find Adsum’s articles for GCD here.
Last Week at GCDiscipleship.com
What Italy’s Carbonara Day Teaches Us About the Gospel
By Clay Kannard
“Just like adding mushrooms to carbonara changes it completely, adding anything to the simple gospel changes it completely. In Rome, a city that understands the significance of this when it comes to food, it is sad to say that it does not understand this point when it comes to the gospel. Scripture says that it is by grace alone that you are saved. But Rome says it is grace plus works.”
The Courage to Kill Our Darling Words
By Lara d’Entremont
“This cutting away of words isn’t just for our benefit; it’s for our readers’ benefit as well. Often those side trails, extravagant descriptions, or wordy sentences hinder our true message. They make it foggy and blurry, and we inadvertently obscure the beautiful truth we originally wanted to convey. When you cut words, you’re not just working toward growing your craft, but you’re loving your reader as well.”