17 haikus about writing and editing

As a professional writer, I am always looking for ways to keep my writing fresh.

Over the past several months, I’ve experimented with constrained writing. And it’s just what it sounds like—imposing specific conditions on writing, such as disallowing certain types of words or writing to a specific pattern. (In college, for instance, we once had to write a paragraph without any prepositions.)

Writing to a pattern means I can’t simply use the first words that I type on the screen. I have to stretch to find words that fit the pattern; they’re writing exercises for the brain.