Image by incurable_hippie via Flickr

There are many ideas that probably hit you every day that you should jot down somewhere.  Perhaps someone says something that tickles you or you suddenly get a brilliant idea for a new story.  Write it down immediately!  It might just be the start of researching a future project.

I recently purchased a little black notebook, where I keep ideas for haiku. Ideas hit me without warning and if I don’t write them down, I might lose that little snippet.  Even if is just a line, the way something strikes me, I write it down.

One example recently was watching children play on an abandoned boat on the beach.  It turned into this haiku:

children giggle
inside an abandoned boat –
hermit crabs

If you have that kernel of an idea, go ahead and open a Word doc now and start putting research information about it into that file.  It will help you create a future project.

I did this with one story.  All I had was the basic concept: mushrooms take over the world.  Then I started researching a bit about mushrooms, here and there, bit by bit.  Then as time went on, I’d come up with other ideas and stick them in that file.

When I sat down to write the story it didn’t take long.  I had done all my research and was prepared.

You can read that story here.

If you have any old ideas that are sitting there, untapped in your mind right now, start a new file on your computer.  Write those ideas down (don’t worry about editing), just get them out of your mind and onto a page.  Download all those old ideas and see if you are inspired to write a new story today.

The Haiku Foundation, the leading conservator of American haiku, has created the largest anthology of English-language haiku ever assembled. Montage: The Book features over a thousand haiku written by a variety of established haiku experts.

This book is amazing – it is really the Who’s Who of English-language haiku.

I am learning about haiku and Montage is really helping me to understand this beautiful art form.  Reading these perfect poems helps me to learn how to structure mine and find my haiku voice.

Peggy Willis Lyles, a former Woodrow Wilson Fellow and an associate editor of The Heron’s Nest, commented in the forward of Montage, “Those new to haiku could derive an education; those already deeply involved should find validation of their commitment.”

For those who think that haiku is only poetry for the elite, Montage will help them appreciate how down-to-earth this ancient art form really is. This book is designed to take a reader through a full year of haiku, giving them 53 installments (one for each week and an extra for the New Year).

Jim Kacian, award winning poet and founder of The Haiku Foundation said, “What makes Montage: The Book so vital is its unique conception—a thematic treatment of an idea or issue as explored by three illustrious practitioners of the art of haiku—and then its perfect realization of that conception. In this way we feel the power and range of the genre itself, and, at the same time, the individual responses and voices that are possible within it.”

Haiku is an art form that spans hundreds of years. When asked to define a haiku, Kacian said, “Haiku is a brief poem, which records an experience of a moment of revelation into the nature of the world, in an effort to share it with others.”

Montage: The Book is only available through membership to The Haiku Foundation – http://www.thehaikufoundation.org/publications/montage-the-book/ However if you go to their site you will find an online version that is magnificent!

Leigh-Ann Lemire is a talented writer who writes in many genres. I asked her to share her story on how she became a writer, when she knew that she could really write.

Please visit her on the web at: http://art-of-ilia.com/literary/

A Funny Story That Became A Lifelong Quest
by Leigh-Ann Lemire

Some writer’s start out with the desire to be a writer or a poet, that wasn’t how I began! Mine is a rather funny story. My cousin, Donna, when she turned sixteen, got a wonderful birthday present. She was the oldest daughter in the family and her gift was a brand new bedroom to call her very own, she no longer had to share a room anymore with her two younger sisters.

At her birthday party, she brought me to her new room telling me that she had saved one wall for her family and friends to write on. Then she asked me to write anything that I wanted on her wall. She left me to it as she skipped out of her room to welcome newcomers to her party.

After contemplating for some time, I decided to draw a set of stairs. Beside the picture I wrote about climbing stairs and life. I signed it and went off to see what was happening at the party.

Shortly thereafter, my aunt came to find me to ask “Do you know what you just did?” Well, what would your response be when you were young and an older person came up to you asking that question? My eyes opened wide while I trembled in my shoes, I found my voice and mumbled “No.”

“You wrote a prose,” she excitedly said to me.

I stood still, looking at my aunt rather dumbfounded as I didn’t know the definition of “prose.” My aunt must have figured that out as she said, “it’s like a poem but it doesn’t rhyme.” I brightened right up when I knew what she was talking about. I was also relieved to find out that I did something right and that I wasn’t in trouble!

After that party, the word got out in my family, I wound up with my aunt and two uncles as mentors. I was instructed on poetry structure and given writing challenges. I successfully work my way through the tasks given and received bright smiles that lit up the faces of my mentors. It was fuel to not only continue writing but strive to get better.

Another thing that has helped me as a writer was to become an avid reader, this happened about the same time I became a writer. Perhaps I should say that I’m not only an avid reader but a fussy one, too. If the work doesn’t grab me in the first few chapters, I just don’t read it and the author gets crossed off of my list of favorites. Over the years, my list of favorite authors has influenced my style of writing.

From the earliest days of writing till the present, mentors and friends that also write have opened my eyes up to endless possibilities. For instance, I was speaking to a friend just a few days ago about Indian ruins that are not far out of the city where I live and she suggested that I write it in a story. Doing so would have never occurred to me.

Now, I challenge myself to write in different styles. A recent story I wrote as Science Fiction was something that I hadn’t tried before. I was inspired by a drive at night from Los Angeles to Phoenix, most of which is on a desert highway. Although the setting was seemingly ordinary, in my story I added in a Nether World idea with a new twist that gives a surprising and unexpected ending.

It is always a joy when someone reads my works and responds with compliments – especially when it is the first try in a new style. For my recent Science Fiction story, I have had nothing but rave reviews from surprised readers. That gives me the impetus to carry on creating more written works.

Leigh Ann Lemire aka ILIA is the author of the modern day fairy tales: “The Handiwork Clash”, “The Bouncing Boy”, “A Christmas Fairy Tale”, and “Ti Ana and The Giant”. Her poetry, along with other poets, has been published in the book “Bamboo Souls – Poetic Visions for a Better World”, in 2010 ILIA was one of the winners of the Turner-Maxwell Poetry Contest, her poem “A Thousand and One Singers” is published in “The Best Poems of the Year”  and she is the co-author of the “Cat Chat Book”.

Image by melolou via Flickr

I have been extremely fortunate to be allowed to work with the Haiku Foundation on an interesting project.  As you might know I have been exploring haiku.  It is a fascinating art form, one that I have admired for some time.

I would imagine that many other writers who are probably in a similar position – they want to learn about haiku, but don’t know how to proceed.  There is only so much that one can get from a book or an online article.

Last Friday, we debuted a new article series called: Quicksilver HG1.  The idea being that I’ll document my journey into learning haiku and invite others to comment.

The first article is called “New to Haiku” and can be seen here:

http://www.thehaikufoundation.org/2010/05/27/quicksilver-hg1-new-to-haiku

The comments are fascinating to read.  Amazingly insightful and helpful to me.  If you are interested in haiku, you’ll love reading the advice of some of the English Language Haiku experts.  Many have written in, giving me encouragement and successful actions that have served them well.

I invite you to add your voice and post a comment.  Share with me your ideas of haiku and feel free to critique my poems.  I’d love to hear your feedback!

Merry Rosenfield just published her first book, An Uncommon Life.  It is a wonderful account of her daughter’s life.  I asked Merry to share her  tips for aspiring writers and to discuss her book with us here.

On Writing a Memoir
by Merry Rosenfield

Recently I published my first book, a memoir of my daughter Cedar. I called it An Uncommon Life, because hers certainly was. Cedar was an extraordinary writer, visual artist, actress and dancer.

Because her life was so brief (she passed away in 2001 at the age of twenty) the body of work she left behind was all the more extraordinary. Two feature screen plays, starring roles in several independent films, watercolors and pastels, embroidery, pin and ink drawings, and one brief video of her dancing.

If you were lucky enough to know my daughter, you most likely have a funny story involving her. Despite being such a hard worker (she often wrote until the wee hours of the morning) she seldom took herself seriously, and we often played pranks on each other. I’m sure Laura Sherman, who was one of her best friends, knows exactly what I’m talking about!

To say that Cedar was a colorful character is an understatement. She was beautiful, funny and extremely talented.

But the idea of writing a book about her was a little daunting. Prior to this I had written very brief poetry, (haiku) comics about my life as a jewelry artist on the road and a few songs. But a book?

Luckily, I knew exactly where to turn for inspiration—a  little book that was written in 1938 by a writer named Brenda Ueland. The name of the book—If You Want to Write. In Ms. Ueland’s own words, “Everybody is talented, original and has something important to say…”

Brenda taught creative writing to the kitchen help, the truck drivers and the ditch diggers of the world. The printed samples of their writing are breathtakingly, beautifully honest.

I think every artist, no matter your preferred form of art, should read this book. Ueland doesn’t teach you how to write.  But she does show you how to find your own unique voice as a writer.

I believe all of us have a gift within us to communicate. Some of us just need the right nutcracker to get to the meat. For me, the nutcracker was If You Want to Write.