Why do I write haikus? It’s not that I claim they are great in any way. What I like is the preciseness that forces me to find synonyms. 5-7-5, that is the pattern. If a word makes the first row six syllables long, I need to find a shorter word; or rephrase, but honestly, there is only five syllables to play around with.
No, part of the fun is to find the right word. And hopefully learn a new word too.
Like I need to remove all unnecessary junk from my writing, I like the minimalistic idea about haikus.
In a way it is painful to not be allowed to tell all I want to share, to remove the description of a hard look or a laugh because it is superfluous; but there are other ways to look upon it. I see it as a challenge.
It is a challenge to transfer an image with limited options. Having page after page to describe a scene is far less challenge. It may be a challenge in other ways, but for me at this moment of my life with what I’m writing, the challenge consists of a minimal use of words to gain maximum impact.
And it is fun.
I guess that I someday will realize that I have cut too much and begin to add instead of removing, but that day is yet to come.
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