Tanka: Japanese Poetry

In the spirit of adventure and exploration, I've been exploring different forms of writing. Right now, given my shortened attention span, I've been working with the flash fiction and tanka forms. I discovered tanka a few years ago, and my main source of information and inspiration for the form comes from the website Tanka Online. Tanka Online features sections on tanka's background, writing techniques, and samples of tanka (I especially enjoy the selections from Mariko Kitakubo).

So, what is the tanka form like? It is similar to haiku but slightly longer. Tanka consists of one flowing sentence divided into 5 lines; tanka features the syllable pattern 5-7-5-7-7 (depending on your style, you may want to be flexible with how you approach this pattern).

Once you become proficient in the form, you may want to consider submitting your work to the Tanka Society of America's annual competition. I recommend that you play with the form for awhile, though; I've found that once I begin submitting writing for publication or contests, the process feels more like work and less like creativity and play.

Writing Prompt Friday

A travel agent walks up to you and hands you a plane ticket. Where will the ticket take you, and what will you do once you're there?

A Return to Creativity

As I reflect on my creative journey through the past several years, I have to admit my record has been somewhat spotty. I would have sudden bursts of creative energy that would stimulate me to write for a week or so then lose focus and lapse into inactivity. I would feel terribly guilty and think "I should be writing" . . . then not do anything. In the spring and summer, I decided to break the guilt cycle when I found out I was pregnant.

Now, I approach writing and creativity with a more hopeful and forgiving spirit. I've returned to writing in my journal on a regular basis, which helps to clear out the cobwebs (similar to Julia Cameron's strategy of morning pages). Also, I've started a joural for my daugher, which I will write more about in a later post. Essentially, this journal consists of little notes and letters about her development and my thoughts on her progress and hopes and dreams for her future.

Also, I discovered a beautiful journal in Barnes and Noble; it has a pink spine and is called "My Life Journal." I find all the different prompts and quotations inspiring and motivating, and when I feel I have absolutely nothing to write about, I open up the book to a random page and write at least one idea under the assigned prompt.

Finally, I keep my favorite writing books close to me. My essential books are listed below, and I encourage you to find  your own list of books that stir your creative spirit:

• Eric Maisel's A Writer's Paris
• Natalie Goldberg's Writing Down the Bones
• Heather Sellers' Page After Page
• Judy Reeves' A Writer's Book of Days