Secrets to Becoming a Haiku Hero

 

Haikus are the sort of material nightmares are made of for most poets. Poetry writing on its own is really hard work. There are so many rules that go into the art. Haikus take those rules to a whole other level. Nonetheless, there is no shortage of haikus in poetry contests. There are people out there who have perfected the art despite the innumerable terms and conditions that go into creating one of these. The secret to becoming great at haikus is to practice. There is no two ways about it. Learn and understand what haikus are all about then practice fervently.

Characteristics of haikus

The most important characteristic of haikus is that they are very abstract. They portray ideas through implication and suggestions relying heavily on objective imagery. As a haiku writer you cannot use adjectives as much as you would love to. This will make the poem too long and miss the syllabic requirements of a haiku. Instead, you have to use words that objectively convey facts about what you taste, see, hear- basically whatever you are able to experience with your primary senses. As there are many free poetry competitions you can submit your haikus for review by other people who are not your family or friends to get objective feedback.

Point to keep in mind

The thing about haikus is that they are such a high level of poetry that they can take years to understand. Whereas most poems leverage on rhyme and rhythm to give them fire, haikus rely on pause- the silence. As you get to understand how to write haikus better, reciting them becomes a bonus skill that you earn. The space between words and silence is what makes the structure of a haiku even more endearing. They are totally unrelated but very critical in creating that spark of energy in the poem. It is the same in almost all forms of art. In painting – it is the merging between empty spaces and the colors that makes a piece all the more remarkable. Learn how to achieve this and you can win poetry contests and other forms of artistic contests as well.

An idea for you

Now that you have decided that you want to get into haiku writing, here is a thought for you. Start with reading what other people have written. Try and copy their style. The more you read, the more your craft advances as it opens your mind to new ideas and styles. Within no time you will find yourself being able to etch out your own distinctive style that may be a deviation from other people’s style or a conglomerate of many people’s styles. You will find yourself enjoying the content created by others as you will enjoy creating your own content as well.

Bottom line

Starting as in haikus can be hard but becoming an expert is not impossible. It is all about practice. Write a lot, seek feedback from friends and enter your work into free poetry competitions. It gets better and so much easier with time.