AdventWord: Winnowing

a writing prompt for you to use this week + December writing hour

The good folks at AdventWord give us a curious prompt today. Winnowing is a word that doesn’t enter my usual vocabulary, except for semi-annual (semi-frightening) Advent warnings hurled by John the Baptist. I grew up in suburbia, and though I’ve lived in rural communities, I’m not any kind of farmer. I don’t have personal experience with the process of separating grains from their husk.

But I am drawn to the idea of separating out what matters from what doesn’t.

In writing this process is sometimes called editing. Eliminate extraneous words, most adverbs, all those random commas, and the sections that are clutter. Like just now I wrote and then winnowed a whole paragraph about where winnowing appears in the Bible. This is not what I want to write about.

So what matters, then—to me, right now—about the prompt and idea of winnowing?

I hold an image in my mind of throwing grain into the air, letting the wind carry away the chaff, leaving only the kernel behind. I suspect it’s a dusty and itchy process on a farm, but it stirs up a longing for freedom and spaciousness, and the desire to let go of what isn’t needed.

I’ve long been intrigued by the idea of minimalism, though not successful at it. I accumulated a whole shelf of books about simplicity that just gathered dust. Now I follow minimalists on Instagram while I read articles on digital minimalism. It’s a privileged conundrum.

I have been slowly winnowing—peeling away layers of accumulated stuff to try and get closer to the essentials. In our last move I pared down books, clothing, dishes, and Christmas decorations. I still have so much more than I need, and find myself itching to winnow more—not just stuff but also how I fill my time, what projects I take on, and even what words I send into the world.

The poet Margaret Robison wrote a book-length poem called Red Creek: a Requiem. In it, she has these lines that float into my consciousness regularly. They winnow down what matters, and invite us to do the same.

What matters then?
Poetry matters, and the line
that will not break
under the weight of history.
What matters then?
A single gardenia broken
from the dark-leafed bush.
What matters then?
The dark-leafed bush.
What matters then?
The gardenia.

a writing prompt

What matters, then, for you? What will the prompt winnowing leave behind for you?

I’d love to know in the comments.

You can read more and find all the AdventWord prompts—one word per day—in my post from last week: AdventWord 2022

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December Writing Hour - Saturday, Dec. 17 | 3 PM

The next writing hour on Zoom for paid subscribers will be Saturday, December 17th at 3 pm Eastern. I’ll send a separate invite to that list of folks. If you want to write in company with others—with yummy prompts and a kind community—consider upgrading to a paid subscription. You can try it for a month and see how you like it. I’d love to write with you!