The Poetry Pie Writing Challenge Continues!

Welcome to Weekend #3! Everything you need for Friday, April 18th.

LINK to ALL PPWriC resources.

We’re heading into the last weekend of the Poetry Pie Writing Challenge! In just fifty-one syllables, you’ll be done—give or take a few!

Thank you so much for making the internet a lovely space with your tiny poems. I feel blessed to read your words.

Housekeeping

1. If you haven’t posted all of your haiku and you want to receive challenge completion prizes, be sure to get them in comments, the chat, or emailed to me no later than April 23rd.

2. There’s no obligation to write comments, but clicking on an emoji in the chat or liking a comment helps our poets know other humans are seeing their poems. It’s a good feeling. Thank you for the kind feedback you’ve given to other writers in the challenge already.

3. If I have any other housekeeping details, I’ll let you know in comments or the chat, but for now, let’s get to writing more haiku.

LINK to ALL PPWriC resources.

Without further haiku ado…

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Tip #7

This is a rebellious one! If you’re feeling constrained by the three line, 5-7-5 syllable pattern, break the rules!

I approach writing haiku with a playful mindset, and I hope you do, too!

BUT at the same time, I also feel reverence and respect for the art of haiku. I want to balance my playful approach with serious attempts at writing haiku steeped in the great tradition of Japanese poets. Recently, I read THIS FABULOUS ARTICLE by Beth Kempton and her tips help us all get to a place of mastery.

In the meantime, let’s have some fun and go wild breaking rules:

1. Add a title.

2. Put an asterisk (*) next to a word that needs more explanation or context. Write an explanation below your haiku.

3. Play with punctuation. I love using commas, colons, and dashes to highlight pauses in my haiku.

Breaking haiku rules is also an opportunity to explore your voice as a writer—with these thtee suggestions you get a more writing real estate to fully express your playful side!

With a Title (AKA breaking rules!)

The Hill Behind Our House

flash of white peeks out

grassy green carpet hill

bunny hop hop hop

With an Asterisk and a Colon (AKA breaking rules!)

today’s bonuses:

grass seems greener on the hill

a silent backyard*

*except for the calls of elusive owls and knocks of tiny woodpeckers on the telephone pole

Using Commas

writer’s block today

chores done, dinner prepped, dog walked

turning to haiku

Writing Prompt #7

Write a haiku that breaks the rules. Revel in the rebellion of it all.

My brother, Mike Nelson, is visiting during the last weekend of the challenge and he’s been writing haiku with us. He doesn’t know it yet, but we’re going to write some haiku together and break rules all over the place! It will be fun to be playful with this one. Imagine me, 61 years old, and my brother, 59 years old, counting on our fingers together.

If you’re so inclined, invite someone to write a haiku with you!

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See ya over in the chat OR in the comments below this newsletter.

I can’t wait to read your haiku. My goal is to read all of your gems no later than 9 PM each day of the weekend.

Always writing haiku,

P.S. Here’s your recipe for NO-BAKE PEPPERMINT PIE from Sheri Allen who sent it to me from Jennifer Vaughan of Mom’s Best Recipes.

P.P.S. Tips and prompts for this Saturday and Sunday will arrive in separate emails at 5 AM each day. Happy haiku writing.