---
title: Haiku × Fiction
type: page
---

## Structure

* Intro
    * Introductions around
    * Expectations
    * Generate zine, available for free as site/pdf, or for tips
* Lead with some haiku
* Go into what a haiku is (not just 5-7-5)
* Exercise 1:
    * Show some images
    * Attendees should pick two things they notice from each image, aim for a bit of contrast
    * Write those two things on two lines, as much as they want
* Images and sensations vs metaphor
* Haiku as minimalist evocation of sensations using only images
* More appropriate structure:
    * About 12 stressed syllables
    * Two images
    * Can include a volta, often relating to seasonal imagery
    * Minimal language usage
    * Concrete evocation
* Exercise 2:
    * Turn those two images into a haiku
    * Remember, doesn't need to be 5-7-5, though don't let that stop you
* Evocation in fiction
* When to use metaphor, when to use concrete evocation
* Utility of surprise
* Exercise 3:
    * Leading with your haiku, write a short (<500) word scene in prose that turns this into a story
    * Try to evoke the same sensations/moods that the haiku did
* What can fiction lend to haiku?
* Characters (in the loosest sense) within images
* Directionality between two images, maintaining tension within haiku form
* Exercise 4 (if there's time):
    * Take two images from your scene and turn them into a haiku
    * Pay attention to what you gain and what you lose in terms of sensations
    * What can you bring back to fiction?
    * Suggest that you can start this series of exercises in the other direction (fiction -> haiku -> fiction) too
* Conclusion
