Category Archives: Writing Tips

High Coo – Nov 15 – Senryu to You Two

Dr. B and Dr. C from The Two Doctors https://thetwodoctors.uk/

As a life-long learner, I appreciate great teachers, those who love learning and love helping others learn. Dr. B and Dr. C are role models worth meeting.

Most recently, Dr. B, has introduced his readers to Senryu (pronounced sen – rye – ooo). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJmzsBmog_Q

Senryu is described as “a Japanese form of short poetry similar to haiku in construction: three lines with 17 or fewer syllables in total. However, senryū tend to be about human foibles while haiku tend to be about nature, and senryū are often cynical or darkly humorous while haiku are serious.” https://www.languageisavirus.com/poetry-guide/senryu.php

Another good source of information on senryu is a blog called Failed Haiku at https://failedhaiku.com/2022/11/. Editor Bryan Rickert with founder and now Video Editor Mike Rehling offer regular publications and contests for participants.

My first knowing attempt: Senryu to You Two

wonderful teachers

encourage exploration:

who are you, again?

High Coo – Nov 12 – Emily Dickinson First Published

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Emily Elizabeth Dickinson was born 1830 in Amherst, Massachusetts and died 55.5 years later in 1886. Her first book of poetry was published four years after her death on November 12th, 1890.

It is reported that only 10 of her nearly 1,800 poems were published during her lifetime. No one realized she was such a prolific writer until her cache of poetry was discovered by her sister after her death. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emily_Dickinson

What few poems were published during her lifetime were heavily edited to meet the “standards” of acceptable poetry as determined by the publishers of her time.

A complete collection of her poetry did not become available until 1955 (65 years after her death). “The Poems of Emily Dickinson — Emily Dickinson, Thomas H. Johnson”. Harvard University Press.

Today’s homage haiku: Emily Dickinson First Published

unacceptable

during your lifetime – today

you are a model

Publishers interested in book sales may not appreciate your work today. The “fickle finger of fate” may not “reward” you during your lifetime. Nevertheless, the reasons you write, and the acceptable standards of your writing, are something only you can determine.

High Coo – Nov 11 – Happy Birthday, Kurt Vonnegut

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The New York Times

Regular readers of this blog know that Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. is my favorite author. Today is his 100th birthday and I am compelled to recommend him again.

Born 11/11/1922, he died in 2007 at the age of 84.

As reported by The New York Times, “Vonnegut died in the Manhattan borough of New York City on the night of April 11, 2007, as a result of brain injuries incurred several weeks prior, from a fall at his brownstone home.” (Dinitia Smith, The New York Times)

True to his irreverent nature, “In a 2006 Rolling Stone interview, Vonnegut sardonically stated that he would sue the Brown & Williamson tobacco company, the maker of the Pall Mall-branded cigarettes he had been smoking since he was around 12 or 14 years old, for false advertising: “And do you know why? Because I’m 83 years old. The lying bastards! On the package Brown & Williamson promised to kill me.” (Lev Grossman, TIME)

Considered the Mark Twain of his generation, Vonnegut wrote 14 novels addressing his aversion to war, religion and politics. All are well worth reading, yet lately, I have been rereading the book Pity The Reader written by Vonnegut & Suzanne McConnell (paperback published in 2020 by Seven Stories Press). This book is based on a short article he wrote for International Paper Company titled, How to Write with Style. In his succinct fashion, Vonnegut identified the eight things to remember to have a successful writing style:

Find a subject you care about
Do not ramble
Keep it simple
Have the guts to cut
Sound like yourself
Say what you mean
Pity the readers
For really detailed advice …

Here is my homage haiku: Happy Birthday Kurt Vonnegut

brevity revealed

your soul’s desire to find

decent humankind

High Coo – Nov 7 – National Book Award Week

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What is one of the best books you’ve read this year?

A helpful reminder of well-thought-of books would be those that receive top recognition.

“National Book Award Week is held from November 7 to November 13 each year. It focuses on America’s future authors, books, and literature in general. The National Book Award is a set of annual literary awards in the United States….The National Book Foundation also awards two-lifetime achievement awards each year: the Medal for Outstanding Contribution to American Literature and the Literary Award for Outstanding Achievement to the American Literary Community.” https://nationaltoday.com/national-book-award-week/

After the Nobel Prize for Literature and the Booker Prize, the National Book Award is considered one of “the world’s most prestigious literary prizes” according to the NY Times.

Today’s haiku: National Book Award Week

honoring the “best”

is a noble attempt to

increase readership

One of my favorite books read this year is “It’s Not About the Wine!” by Brian Metters (aka Dr. B). Check it out!

High Coo – Oct 20 – National Day On Writing

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For eleven years now, the National Council of Teachers of English has celebrated a National Day On Writing. In a 2018 position paper, the group updated their definitions of writing, writers and the principles and purposes for writing. For example:

Principle 3.2: Writers grow when they broaden their repertoire, and when they refine their judgment in making choices with their repertoire.

Writers need models and strategies—to find topics, issues, and questions to write about, to revise, to contextualize and connect their piece with others, to give and receive feedback. However, collecting those strategies is not enough; writers need practice not only in choosing a strategy to fit a particular purpose and context, but they also need practice in explaining why they made the choices they did.

See https://ncte.org/statement/teachingcomposition/.

I enjoy the challenge of seventeen-syllable haiku because the structure requires brevity. Someday I will attempt the Six-Word Story format. 🙂

Today’s haiku: On Writing

words, words and more words

often dilute our message –

simply, less is more

Learn more about this holiday at https://nationaltoday.com/national-day-on-writing/

High Coo – September 4 – What Blank Slate?

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Are we a blank state? I disagree, there is no blank slate. We never start with nothing since we are all composites of what came before us. Today is the continuation of yesterday. My brain is a collection of neurons and the synapses that result. This moment is filled with energy from multiple sources.

As I sit here behind a laptop computer, I see a backyard with a row of beauty berry bushes attracting birds and many trees with squirrel nests and waving branches from the breeze blowing through and…..

In this office there are many books, pictures on the shelves, more pictures on the walls, a desk, two small file cabinets, three musical instruments and a music stand close by.

How many objects are needed for inspiration? Actually, none. Inspiration is our life force; we can’t help but think and ponder and dream and create and…..

We are co-creators in this cosmos. We are holograms of the life spark. We are “chips off the old block” and the Big Bang keeps banging away. Inspiration, change, creation are all words for the same thing: life.

As long as we keep breathing, we keep thinking, I think. I’m curious – what are you thinking right now?

Today’s haiku: What Blank Slate?

Blessed by ancestors

energy continues to

stimulate action

Life Matters

CHOOSE LOVE