A bumper edition here today, before the holidays. You lovely students enjoy daily practice videos, I’ve noticed, so here’s a new one this month. I’m producing lots of poem video for a project at the moment, and this seemed to fit.

In between writing these posts, I keep my eyes peeled for useful information elsewhere, and this month here’s some great booty for you. Two collections, the first one of Newsletters For Writers: and the second one of Podcasts For Writers. If you like any of these especially and would like to recommend on, please let me know, below.

Meanwhile, here’s the copy of the video transcript:

A daily writing practice is one of the ideas, that you, my lovely students,  like best from my courses.

So here’s a short video on using haiku in your daily practice. Daily haiku will help your writing develop a sense of rhythm and help you produce ideas to order.

Haiku originate from japan, are usually three lines long,  and they have a particular rhythm which goes like this:

Haiku has five beats

In second line it’s seven

The five again  last

So as well as this 5/7/5 beat pattern, Haiku often have a connection to the natural world, and contain contrasting ideas, like this one, I just made up on a walk

Primroses are spring’s

Auditors neat and tidy

Lover’s doubt in check

Haiku writing is especially helpful to zoom in on central focus in your writing… and where you feel perhaps that a bigger work, a poem or short story or novel chapter is sprawling out of control, then try to haiku its essence to get back in focus.  Here’s one for a much longer ballad:

Young girl fasts to death

When folk believe she’s divine

Church and medics fight

So to sum up:

Have a go at this

It can be quite good practice

Getting to the point