No one wants to be last in any competition. Right? Only about 20% of people are concerned about being the winner or loser. They just compete for the sake of enjoyment but I’m among them who wants to be on top.
Competitions make you more creative. Prefer to participate in every kind of competition to improve your skills. I love to compete in poetry competitions and never missed a chance to participate.
Few months back, there was a competition for haiku poems. It was my first experience but guess what? I winned!
Historically, there are only a few poets in Japan who, over the centuries, have become respected for their haiku poetry.
Due to the richest cultural history, it hit me to compete and I did it. Now, I’m going to share with you my personal experience about writing haiku poems to perform best in poetry competitions.
Let’s start!
Effective steps to write competitive haiku poem
The above stated steps will definitely help you to write haiku poems that are able to perform best in poetry competitions.
Ready to start?
1. Brainstorm some ideas to write haiku poem
First of all, think about the ideas you want to write as a poem. It can be a formal or an informal topic. Start processing your neurons to think something creative. Select any one topic to pursue working on it.
Writing haiku is a bit tricky. So, you have to choose the idea with clear concepts and facts. This helps you to continue your writing process without any interruption.
2. Get the structure of haiku poems clearly
Haiku, a 17 syllable poem in just 3 lines. Every haiku poem can be recognized by its specific structure. Before writing a poem you have to understand the structure of writing to make the poems natural and engaging.
You must be sure to write five syllables in the first line then seven syllables in the second line and in the third line again five syllables.
So, be sure about the structure then start writing words to show yourself as a creative person.
3. Find inspiration in nature and seasons
Most often the haiku poems revolve around nature and season. The most discussed themes in haiku poems are changing of seasons, flower blossoms, snow falls and rainy evenings.
As I was a participant of the competition, I chose the theme of nature for my haiku poem. I discussed the beauty of flowers and their enchanting fragrances and this made my poem prominent among competitors.
Maybe someone shared a tale of shadows and resilience, connecting more beautifully with it throughout the entire show. Therefore, get inspired by nature and write an amazing haiku poem to stand out.
4. Create scenes that readers can imagine
Cathartic poems are always the choice of readers. They feel relaxed by creating imagination while reading the poem. Just like in reality, we love to extend images for more clarity and better visualization.
I remember I focus on tangible images that readers can visualize like the rustle of leaves, a bird perched on a branch and a shadow stretching on the ground etc. This makes my poem likely by the readers.
Hence, you have to mainly focus on this trick to make your haiku memorable.
5. Play interestingly with contrasts
Contrasts bring depth and intrigue to haiku poems that allow the writer to create imagery, share journeys through innovation and evoke powerful emotions in just a few words.
You can create tension and harmony within the same verse by juxtaposing opposing elements such as light and shadow, silence and sound, or fleeting moments and timeless truths.
6. Keep the language simple and easy
Haiku’s are always concise and simple. Don’t complicate them by using complex language. If you have an idea and don’t compile it correctly then go with a haiku creator, this works best in generating haiku poems according to your preferences.
Select the theme and input a prompt for amazing haiku poems. This tool helps you to write best haiku’s without manual effort and extra time.
7. Try modern themes to make it competitive
To stand out in competition you have to work on modern theme like urban life, technology by maintaining the simplicity and sensory appeal like;
Neon city lights,
Shadows dance on empty streets
Midnight whispers fade.
There are multiple ways, like expressing poetry in sign language, that can enhance creativity and engagement. This approach will definitely work as a top performer in the competition, provided we maintain consistency and persistence throughout.
Final thoughts
So, I shared the whole tricks with you that I learned during the competition. These all will help to stay prominent in the competition.
Writing haiku is not very difficult, once you understand the minors and majors, you will write better. Competitions value originality. Share a perspective or experience whether it’s a childhood memory, a cultural tradition, or a moment of personal insight.
Just trust yourself and work hard. No one beats you!
