​My dear friend and fellow blogger AshiAkira is publishing a book of his wonderful haiku poems. I met him seven years ago when I was a baby blogger. All those years and he's never stopped writing and sharing his amazing gift. And now I'm happy to give a shout-out and highlight his upcoming launch. Please look for purchasing details at the end of this post.

And now, let me introduce AshiAkira, using his own words. Because, well, he says it best!

​I became interested in writing haiku poems originally in English after I turned seventy.

Born in Tokyo in 1938, I went to the United States for study after graduating from a Tokyo metropolitan senior high school in 1957.

After returning to Japan from the United States in 1963, I worked for a news agency as an English reporter, thus continuing the use of the English language I had learned in the previous years in America. After reaching the mandatory retirement age of sixty with the news agency in 1998, I continued to work for its subsidiaries taking charge of correspondence and translation, thus further continuing to make use of my English skills.

When I reached the age of seventy, I fully retired from all the chores of work to make a living and decided to live on a pension alone. My income then drastically went down, but in return, I gained enough leisure to do whatever I wanted, and I chose to spend the remaining years of my life in writing novels, short stories, poems, or anything I found myself interested in.

I then noticed on the internet that haiku writing was gaining considerable popularity in many countries outside Japan. I didn’t have much knowledge of haiku writing above the common sense level of a person born and raised in Japan, where saying things in the haiku rhythm penetrates through people’s lives. But I felt something amiss about many of the haikus written by non-Japanese writers, and I thought it would be interesting to write haikus directly in English.

When I told a friend of mine that I’d try to write haikus in English, he introduced me to a member of the haiku-writing club of a famous university in Tokyo. The haiku writer apparently discussed my plan with other members of the club, and he told me it was utterly impossible to write haikus in English or in any other language than Japanese. He said that I should first train myself to write in Japanese until I became familiar with traditional haiku writing. He said he resented so many non-Japanese poems that are claimed to be haikus simply because they are short and broken into three lines. He said many Japanese haiku writers feel the word haiku should not be used for the non-Japanese three-line poems.

I know it’s said that “poetry is what gets lost in translation,” but I also believe that the prosody is not all there is to poetry. Having been born into and grown up in the haiku-writing culture, I feel there is something in the core of haiku that can be retained in whatever language it is written.

I decided to call what I would write haiku poems, meaning haiku-style poems, instead of haiku to avoid hurting the feeling of the haiku experts as much as possible. I also decided to throw away all rules and tradition about the haiku writing except two basic ones, namely the five-seven-five syllables—rhythm—and its connection with nature, without which a haiku cannot be a haiku.

The Japanese language, when it’s spoken in five and seven syllables, gives to the Japanese ear a pleasant rhythm. I believe this stems from the fact that Japanese is always pronounced in combination of a consonant and a vowel or in a vowel independent of consonant clusters. It is also because Japanese is pronounced with the tone accent rather than the stress accent, like that of English.

For hundreds of years, saying things in the five-seven-five syllables was popular among the Japanese people, and it was called haikai. Several people might get together for a party where they would compose the haikai, mainly jokes to throw at each other or allusive sarcasm against corrupt or oppressive officials of the feudal rule that lasted until nineteenth century.

It was Matsuo Basho who made the revolutionary achievement of writing poems of artistic value in the haikai form in the seventeenth century. There was no such a word as haiku in Basho’s days. It was not until about two hundred years after his death that the writers of artistic haikai began to call their works haiku to distinguish them as an art from jokes or allusively ironic pieces which then began to be called senryu or kyoka, respectively.

The counting of syllables in an English word varies from speaker to speaker. The word poem pronounced by some English speakers, for instance, sounds like a one-syllable word or by others as a two syllable word. The word poet, however, is pronounced almost always as a two-syllable word. Thus, the haiku poems I write in English often follow the five-seven-five syllable rule loosely.

Connection with nature is another basic core tradition in the haiku writing. The reason for this would no doubt call for heated discussion by experts. But as a full-blooded Japanese who received more education outside Japan than at home, I must ask for others’ permission to say that the haiku artists feel that nature is the ultimate ruler of all living things deserving our due respect. We all came into this world by the natural power in disregard of our own will. And in most of the cases, we leave this world when the time for each individual to do so comes. Before nature we are powerless. We don’t know what nature is as we don’t know what life is. But we can have a glimpse of what happens in nature as its work. For example, the blooming of flowers and birds flying and chirping are works of nature. By catching a glimpse of nature’s work, only a momentary spark, and jotting it down in words as a reflection of our mind, we may get closer to knowing it. The five-seven-five-syllable poem, or close to it in any language, is a handy form of poetry to capture the works of nature when noticed. Doing so could be a way to bring the unseen power of nature into the human consciousness.

I have written around two thousand haiku poems in nearly a decade, and I have randomly selected and edited 496 of them for this publication. I plan to publish all the rest of them, in addition to other forms of poems I have also written, in the future.

Finally, since so much must be squeezed into the seventeen syllables, I take full advantage of poetic license to disregard grammar or any rule of the language. Since I intend my haiku poems to appeal directly to the imagination of the readers through words only, the use of pictures or illustrations is avoided. And like any other form of poetry, each haiku poem, although it’s so short, is meant to be independent. I would be honored if the readers read them as such.

I haven't been posting for a while, but at least I have a good excuse.

I've been writing.

For those of you who've experienced Nanowrimo, you understand what I'm about to say. Now is not the time to waste precious words or fingers crafting long-winded posts. Now is the time to let the words flow, the characters take hold, the plot unfold as you dig and push and never give up, even when your dog is whining and supper isn't cooked and you can no longer speak in full sentences.

Your family and friends should understand, and if they don't. Too bad.

I've been productive. The story is taking shape. Allow me to share a few of my more treasured Nano moments thus far:

Hitting my goal and staying on target. Okay, for those of you who don't know me, or how stinking slooooooowly I write, this is a big deal.  It's time to finish the damnable YA fantasy that's been batting around in my mind for the past year. Time to get 'er dun.

Freedom of expression. Forget wine or booze or medication. Nothing can soothe a soul like digging into and falling in love with your characters. You can even find gratification in killing off a few of the more annoying ones. The point is, in this world, I am master. I can tune out real life and live in my head, if only for another 2 1/2 weeks.

Writing. It's pure expression. Or maybe I should call it drafting, because my inner editor is shut down. Yup, I'm crafting crap and loving it. An example: I recently came up with this beauty:

She wiped her face, and faced her accuser. 

Good times. Good times.

There's something about Nano that gives me permission to let the flood gates open and write. I can't nit pic, can't review and obsess over the minutia, not if I want to reach my goal and finish the book. Forget about finishing it on time - I just want this thing done.

Then I can step back, review and edit. Then I can delete such stupid sentences. Because I'll have something to edit, right? 

Anyhoo, I'm sure this post is full of typos, and poorly crafted sentences, maybe even a stray comma or two, but the point is.

WHO CARES. I'm doing NaNo.

Happy writing (and I mean it!)
Sue

​I love reading. I love turning the pages of a book, or flicking the screen of my Kindle, and watching a story unfold. It's always about the journey, not the destination. It keeps me in the now and takes me away from my worries.

When I read, I find inspiration. Words, strung together in a magical way. Characters that behave contrary to the norm, who charm me, steal my breath with their aliveness.

Am I envious? I'll admit to wiping the drool occasionally.

Am I content to enjoy the work of others? Absolutely.

When I recently went through a bout of writer's block, all I could enjoy was take notes and read. Sometimes, reading was the only thing my brain seemed capable of doing.

And it makes me wonder, if you studied the habits of your favorite authors, if you'd find they are voracious readers?

I leave you with this. What are you reading? Has it helped you find inspiration?

I wish you all the best and..Happy reading!
Sue

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 I enjoy writing in the first person. Sometimes I use present tense (for ya contemporary), and other times I use past tense (for my fantasy books). What ever the tense,  I'm a sucker for internal dialogue.

Oh, the joy of belching out that stream of consciousness, allowing the character to speak freely, the ability to drive the story deeper, delving into the inner most thoughts of a character's mind...It's just so fun!

I enjoy reading first person narratives too. And I've been discovering something lately...

Crafting  good internal dialogue is tougher than it looks.

And so I've compiled four things to watch for:

1. Info. Dumps.  (see my previous post for more). Internal dialogue is probably the most confusing place to dump information because, really, if the character knows so much why are they in that pickle? Nothing launches me quicker out of a story than when a character reveals information via an internal narration that they shouldn't know. Which leads me to the next point...

​2. When internal narration becomes just plain narration.  Ever read an internal dialogue and suddenly feel like its off somehow? When that happens to me, I go back and reexamine (which means I'm no longer in the story. Which is bad btw) and usually find the voice has changed somehow. I'm no longer in the character's head, but the narrator's head. 

3. Character dumps. This is similar to information dumps, but the information is specific only to the character. Let me explain.

When I write first drafts I allow the character to share with the readers all their deepest fears, their challenges, their struggle in long, drawn out internal dialogue blocks. I find this useful in getting to know the character better. The trouble comes when it's left intact and not edited, because in the strictest sense, this is telling, not showing!  Don't agree?

Well then, ask yourself:

How much stronger would a scene be if the character enacted or lived their deepest fear instead of telling the reader they had one?

4. Not enough internal dialogue. Does that seem possible? Probably not! But I've read some ya books lately that go a bit too far with culling and cutting back internal thoughts and dialogue. The action's great! But where's the reaction? Sometimes, it makes it harder for me, the reader-who-is-now-the-character understand or empathize with the character's plight.

What do you think? Love/hate internal dialogue? 
I'd be happy to hear from you!
cheers-
​Sue

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Information dumps., aka large clumps of information designed to keep a reader on track with what the writer wants the reader to know. Why do fantasy writers in particular struggle with this issue?

Perhaps they're worried their readers won't be able to keep up and they think let's get all the world building done in one clump? Maybe fantasy writers are inherently worrisome? After all, most genres allow the story to unfold and trust their readers to figure it out as they read along. Who really knows?

It's easy to spot the obvious info dump--just look for pages of technical or world-building information that goes on and on... leaving the reader feeling, well, like they've just attended a lecture delivered by a bored, monotone profession on a Friday afternoon on the last day before school break...

Well, you get the idea. But if you don't, here are two examples:

"Gee, Jane, did you know the baddies are from Planet X, have three eyes, have ten stomachs and eat humans, live for two hundred years and can fly?"

"No, John, I didn't."

"Yup. The planet was destroyed in a civil war that lasted three hundred years. The Zargonots pledged to overthrow the vicious Scallawags and developed a cyber weapon that wiped out all electronic devices. After they won, the Zargonots tried to rebuild their infrastructure but without the Scallawags help, they couldn't. When they ran out of food, they sent a probe into space, hoping to find a new planet--one that they could take over. The probe veered off course and discovered our lovely blue orb, and now they're here!"

Gasps. "You're kidding. Tell me more!"

Okay, so this may be obtuse, and perhaps you're chuckling (you should be, btw), but I've actually read this form of dialogue in published books. When an author conveys info via dialogue, it can come off as stilted and unbelievable. Who wants to be lectured? Just ask my teen, it's annoying!

Another form of info dump comes from the protagonist in an internal dialogue. 

Jane grasped the gun in her hand, aiming low to hit the slobbering beast stalking her. This was the first time she'd seen a space alien and she'd never imagined anything quite so disgusting. Planet X grew fierce some creatures with an appetite for humans. Their three hundred year war had decimated their food population and now they had set their sights on Earth...

​Did you catch it? The dump?

Also hidden within this last example is something I like to call a narrator tell. Really, how would Jane know so much about Planet X if she's never been there? Who told her about the war? The narrator may know it, but how would Jane? (more on this in an upcoming post).

But don't get me wrong. Info dumps have their place. Yes! In first drafts! Those dumps are often full of plot points and character development. Once you have a draft, go back and pull that information apart. Keep some, inserting it judiciously throughout the story (with it being revealed by multiple characters.) The rest, save in a separate file, and never let it see the light of day.

Just remember, even though you may love all this detail, your reader may not. And it's never wise to bore your reader.

I wish you happy writing!
Sue

I'll admit it, I've been in a slump lately. I was banging on those keyboards, creating, editing, writing whatever my brain damned well pleased and then I hit a wall. I'd submitted a ya fantasy to an acquisition editor, who loved it, but offered pages of suggestions to make it viable... all of which amounted to a complete rewrite.

This is where my newbie status reared its ugly head.

I thought I knew how to edit, when really I knew how to figgle with a story (figgle= trying to improve the quality of the entire arc by picking away at the small stuff.)

It was hard, hitting that wall. I still feel bruised. I remember thinking when I read that wonderful email... just how am I supposed to do this? How?

After that, everything I wrote seemed like garbage. I questioned every word, every thought...so afraid no matter what I wrote, no matter how well crafted it would end up like before. NEEDING TO BE REWRITTEN WHICH I DIDN'T KNOW HOW TO DO!

I couldn't write. It wasn't productive to keep trying, so, I took a break and did only what felt doable. Like spending time imagining the story at a deeper level, and filling a notebook with pages and pages of ideas, thoughts, questions, tearing the character and plot apart, only to rebuild it.

I didn't write in full sentences. I couldn't.

You may have noticed some large gaps in my blog posts. They coincide with this period. Was I full of self-doubt and tormented at the thought of that editor, patiently (???) waiting for me to do a complete rewrite? You betcha. Could I do anything about it?

Nope. I couldn't even write a stinking post.

Then a funny thing happened just last week. I was pulling out my hair, trying to get the damned story to focus, when I realized I was beginning to hate it. Not too strong a word. Trust me. I HATED IT.

So, I put it aside, which just about killed me, and panicked at the image of that editor, calmly moving on.

I was miserable one day, sitting at my computer made me more miserable, and then I remembered I'd loaded one of my other stories onto an email and decided to give a poke on my phone. Did I pray to the Muse Gods that it would spark my confidence?

You betcha.

And wow. What a blast. I couldn't believe how much I'd written, and how good it was! It felt like a curtain pulled back, revealing the real me! I was a writer, damn it, and a good one, or at least good enough to face this challenge.

After a week of working on that story (another 10,000 words closer to completion, thank you very much), my mind unlocked, and suddenly I was pulled back to the original ya fantasy. And now, as I finish chapter 4 (all full sentences), and write this post, I feel my confidence returning.

What I've taken from this experience? Managing expectations.

I didn't want to, I was forced to honor my creative spirit and value the times when it's screaming for a break. I may have expected to have this story crafted and back in the hands of that waiting editor pronto, but it couldn't happen at the pace I set. It'll get done. And the story will be stronger.

Because I am stronger now.

I wish you all happy writing, in whatever form it takes.

Sue

Dear Writer,

Please indulge me for a moment and allow me to share a brutal moment of honesty. This may sting a bit, but I feel it needs to be said.

As I perused my Kindle recently, searching for the next big thing, I began to get frustrated. Each sample downloaded held so much promise! Each lame opening sequence, or undeveloped character left me sour. 

Where was it? Where was that captivating story premise? That character so compelling I HAD to know buy the book to learn what happened to them? Where was the creativity?

I'm not going to dis self-publishing, but it is a gift wrapped in an enigma. A total Pandora's box. I guess I thought, when I bought my first Kindle reader, I'd spend hours glued to that little gray screen (yup, it was that long ago). But for every 10 books I sample, I read maybe one or two.

AND I LOVE TO READ!!!

So let me, your reader, pass along some advice. 

Make your story it's best before uploading! Take the time, dedicate the time to properly develop your story and character arc. Invest in editing. Use beta readers! Please, let's raise the standard of self-publishing to new heights!

Because I want to read your book. I want to love reading your book. I realize the vast amount of effort, of love and time you've invested in your baby. I know you're entrusting it to me when you place it up for reading, so why would you settle for anything less than the best most polished version?

I'm on your side. I'm your reader. Take care of me and I'll take care of you.
I promise.

Sincerely yours,
your reader