Just Another Post

Clutter: (verb) to crowd something untidily.

I have a confession to make: I am a clutter person. I once read an essay in which a lady told a friend she had her “pilots’ license.” She further explained it was actually “pile-lots,” because she liked to pile her magazines, newspapers, and other things around her home and her office.

Well, hello.

One day at the end of summer break, I decided to do some cleaning in the bedroom. I threw away many things and felt good about it, but I know I need to do more. My wife is currently working on our kitchen cabinets in the same way.

All this cleaning made me think about my writing and how it, too, can become cluttered. We all have our “pet words,” and one of my favorites is “just.”

I just feel a need to tell you about this. I just got back to work from summer break, and I just need a nap. I just need a cool drink, and maybe I’ll just run to the vending machine for a snack.

Refer back to the definition at the beginning of this piece: to crowd something untidily. Not only does that reflect my personal spaces at times, it also reflects my writing. I use other pet words as well, and it is always a revelation when I use the “search” feature and find that I have used a particular word NUMEROUS times in a piece.

I have learned the art of decluttering my prose through writing assignments with specific word counts. Several years ago I was tasked with writing a magazine profile piece with a 750-word limit. I worked on the first draft, and I hit 1,000 words before the subject, who had accomplished great things in adulthood, had even left school. I did two things: (1) requested an additional 250 from the editor (which he obliged) and (2) began cutting the clutter.

I have since worked on several devotional projects, some with a word count as low as 250 words counting a Bible verse and a prayer. With these assignments, words like “just” and “that” were on my decluttering radar.

In the end, decluttering your writing is a way to give your readers a smoother experience. They can only work their way through so many unnecessary words before they choose to turn away. We want them to keep reading and coming back, don’t we?

I just want to make my readers happy.

Carlton Hughes wears many hats—some serious, some goofy.

During weekdays, he sounds like Charlie Brown’s teacher (wah-wah wah-wah-wah) as a community college professor of communication and journalism. On Sundays and Wednesdays, you’ll find him playing games, performing songs with motions, and doing object lessons in his role as a children’s pastor. He and his wife also attempt to keep up with their two college-age boys.

In his “spare” time, Carlton is a freelance writer who has been published in numerous books, including several recent releases from Worthy Publishing: The Wonders of Nature, So God Made a Dog, Just Breathe, Let the Earth Rejoice, and the forthcoming Everyday Grace for Men. He has been featured in Chicken Soup for the Soul and other publications and is represented by Cyle Young of the Hartline Agency. He contributes regularly to two writing blogs, almostanauthor.com and inspiredprompt.com. He specializes in humorous observations of everyday life, connecting those experiences with spiritual application.

Carlton loves watching classic sitcoms like I Love Lucy, eating way too much chocolate, and rooting for his favorite college and high school basketball teams. He is on the planning committee for Kentucky Christian Writers Conference and a year-round volunteer for Operation Christmas Child.