Teach the Cast
Some of HaikuQuest’s cast are still learning. When you teach them, YOU learn it best — catch what they get wrong, then quiz them.
Teach Count
You be the teacher — Count is still learning. Helping Count figure it out is the practice. (Only for you; nothing is saved.)
Teach the connections
Show how the haiku ideas connect
You've helped them one at a time. The real understanding is how the ideas CONNECT — teach that next.
Pause (kireji — the cut that splits a haiku into two parts) × Flint (juxtaposition — striking two images together for a spark)
A haiku puts an old pond beside a frog's splash. What does the cut (Pause) let Flint do?
Pause then says: “Just run all three lines together as one smooth sentence, no break.” — is that right?
The link: the cut makes two images; juxtaposition makes them spark.
Cut it in two, then strike the spark.
Count (syllable count — the strict 5-7-5 shape) × Trim (brevity — saying less, cutting every spare word)
Why does the tight 5-7-5 count make Trim's word-cutting necessary rather than optional?
Count then says: “I'll keep every describing word and just stretch the lines past 17 syllables.” — is that right?
The link: the tiny form forces the tiny word-count — Count makes Trim mandatory.
So few beats you must keep only what matters.
Capstone — write one haiku together
Three moves of a real haiku. Bring in the cast member for each.
Shape it as 5, then 7, then 5 syllables. Who?
Who do you bring in?
Anchor it with a season word (snow, blossom, cicada). Who?
Who do you bring in?
Set two images against each other so a spark jumps between them. Who?
Who do you bring in?
The synthesis: a tiny fixed shape, a season to ground it, and two images that spark — the whole art of haiku in three seconds of reading.
Count, season, spark — a haiku done right.
Try it in the haiku tools →
