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.
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