Haiku: an ink-clad
thought on paper; lovely like
the lake at sunrise.
The haiku is a form of Japanese poetry containing three lines and a total of 17 syllables. The first and third lines of the haiku contain five syllables and the second line contains seven syllables. The haiku does not require the use of meter or rhyme. Most haiku (written the same way in the plural) present one simple image using the five-seven-five progression of syllables. The third line usually contains a “fragment” that is linked to the image or insight in the first two lines.
Shall I ever fly
with my own wings towards a
sky with no limits?
In addition to the syllabic count, most haiku present images connected to nature, and especially to a particular season. Often, a haiku evokes a sense of empathy in the reader by revealing an image or experience that is unique but universal.
Her cigarette smoke
clouds my mind; the lake reflects
a turbulent sky.
Haiku Writing to Break Writer’s Block
Any blocked writer can use haiku as a simple and effective way to overcome writer’s block.
The short and simple form of the haiku means that it hardly takes a minute to write one. Though the 5-7-5 syllabic format of the haiku is simple enough, it is acceptable to write haiku using a total of 13 to 17 syllables.
Haiku can be used in many ways to break writer’s block. Blocked writers can write haiku:
- To overcome the initial difficulty in starting to write, which afflicts most writers:
To want to write and
to avoid putting words on
paper is suicide.
- To regain focus and courage, whenever writers are stuck in their writing and are feeling frustrated or bored:
When shall I go forth
and clap my hands in wonder
at my own courage!
- To define and redefine their present mood in a humorous way, to enable writers to put each defeat behind them and to make a new start:
Your castle built, so
painstakingly on air, lies
in ruins around you.
and
A setback is not
a setback, if followed by
a rapid comeback.
- To use metaphors in creative ways:
This ugly monster
is the metamorphosis
of an ink-clad thought.
- To express random insights in the form of a haiku:
There are sad-sacks all
around us; look within you
and find the greatest.
and
A big house is the
need of a big family
or a big ego.
- To serve as cryptic reminders stuck next to the computer screen:
Silence is the one
virtue I must cultivate
assiduously.
Haiku on the Internet:
Writers can choose to share the haiku that they write in their blogs and other social media. Since they are usually less than 140 characters, they can tweet their haiku to their followers and have impromptu haiku contests.
Some websites such as My Writers Circle regularly organize free haiku contests. The best way to find such contests is to search for “haiku contest” on Google.
Writing haiku is a great way to have fun especially when any writer is blocked or bored or stressed. It is as effective as other methods such as freewriting and mind-mapping. The only problem is that it can become addictive!
Haiku is not all
I write in this book of words-
I live, die, create.
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