The Aporia · Many years ago I began writing 100-word short stories. Some would argue that’s too long

Many years ago I began writing 100-word short stories. Some would argue that’s too long

Read the original at The Sydney Morning Herald ↗

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Connolly, P. (2026, October 16). Many years ago I began writing 100-word short stories. Some would argue that’s too long. The Sydney Morning Herald. https://www.smh.com.au/national/many-years-ago-i-began-writing-100-word-short-stories-some-would-argue-that-s-too-long-20261017-p61266.html?ref=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_source=rss_feed

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Quick Summary

The article discusses how to write a haiku, a Japanese poetic form, emphasizing its principles over rigid structure. Grant Caldwell, an expert in poetry and literature, explains that traditional haikus follow sound units rather than English syllables, debunking the common misconception about their strict 5-7-5 format. He highlights the importance of using everyday language and capturing both permanent and transient elements of existence to convey a deeper sense of reality through concise expression.

Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-16, using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the same event (that is the story summary below).

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Story summary

Grant Caldwell, a poet and honorary senior fellow at Melbourne University, recently discussed the misconceptions surrounding haiku poetry in an article for *Good Weekend*. Contrary to popular belief, traditional Japanese haiku do not strictly adhere to a 5-7-5 syllable structure; instead, they use sound units called morae. Caldwell argues that this rigid format has been abandoned in Japan but persists in English-language interpretations due to a misunderstanding of the poetic form's principles and spirit. He emphasizes that haiku should focus on capturing fleeting moments and natural imagery rather than conforming to a specific syllable count. This discussion challenges the widely held notion about how haiku should be written, suggesting a more flexible approach aligned with modern writing practices.

Written for “Short Story Challenge Length” on 2026-10-16, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

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sentences that state something as happening or true

Uncertain

1 of 24 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")

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not political

takes no side on a contested political question

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61/100

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Education

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articles that frame the event the way this one does

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Publisher

The Sydney Morning Herald · 3905 article(s) · 10 correction(s) detected

Running correction rate · 10 correction(s)

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Who wrote this

Paul Connolly

2 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction

🔮 Writers of haiku – who, like me, attempt to capture moments – might wonder why I’ve needed to be so damned long-winded.

2026-10-16 · assertive framing · Many years ago I began writing 100-word short stories. Some would argue that’s too long

🔮 Office over-workers may find release in mooching with their children.

2026-09-25 · assertive framing · Stop feeling guilty – there are benefits of doing absolutely nothing

Also by Paul Connolly

Stop feeling guilty – there are benefits of doing absolutely nothing

2026-09-25 · The Sydney Morning Herald

Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.

Topics

Good Weekend Good Weekend’s Japan Japanese Melbourne University

Subjects

Caldwell PERSON · 4× Good Weekend ORG · 3× Japanese NORP · 3× Good Weekend’s ORG · 1× Grant Caldwell PERSON · 1× Japan GPE · 1× Liane Moriarty PERSON · 1× Masaoka Shiki PERSON · 1× Melbourne University ORG · 1× Paul Connolly PERSON · 1×

Narrative

Caldwell loves the accessibility of haiku and its defining brevity, which suits our time-poor world and blowfly-like attention spans, but strict adherence to the “5-7-5” structure – which he says has long been discarded in Japan – rattles his bamboo, so to speak.

framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-16

🔮 Writers of haiku – who, like me, attempt to capture moments – might wonder why I’ve needed to be so damned long-winded.

2026-10-16 · The Sydney Morning Herald

Many years ago I began writing 100-word short stories. Some would argue that’s too long · assertive framing

Claims (24 extracted, 1 hedged)

Each week, Good Weekend’s how-to column shares expert advice on how to navigate some of modern life’s big – and small – challenges. asserted

column → share → challenges

Many years ago, I began writing 100-word short stories. asserted

I → write → stories

Writers of haiku – who, like me, attempt to capture moments – might wonder why I’ve needed to be so damned long-winded. uncertain

I → attempt → moments

A Japanese poetic form, haiku, in English, are measured in syllables, not words. asserted

form → measure → syllables

But the popular perception that a haiku must always consist of three lines of five, seven and five syllables is a misconception. asserted

haiku → consist → syllables

“Traditional Japanese haiku featured five, seven, five sound units, or morae, but these are very different to English syllables,” explains Grant Caldwell, a poet, novelist and honorary senior fellow at Melbourne University. asserted

Caldwell → feature → University

he → love → bamboo

“The problem is that writers focus more on that instead of the principles and the spirit of haiku.” asserted

writers → focus → haiku

One essential principle of haiku, says Caldwell, is the use of everyday language. asserted

Caldwell → say → language

Another is that they should attend to, explicitly or implicitly, the “two basic notions of existence: the never-changing [such as the sun, sky, sea or seasons] and the ever-changing [anything that points to the ephemeral nature of existence].” asserted

that → attend → existence

Caldwell likens the process of writing a haiku to that of taking a photograph or making a sketch. asserted

Caldwell → liken → sketch

But a haiku, he says, “has the advantage of engaging a fuller range of a reader’s senses, such as sound, even indirectly”. asserted

he → say → sound

Hear the joyous racket, for example, in an 1890 haiku by Japanese poet Masaoka Shiki: In the abandoned boat/The hail/Bounces about. asserted

hail → hear → Bounces

The first step is to pay attention to what’s around you, to what strikes you, and make a note of it in simple language: “One or two sentences at most,” Caldwell says. asserted

Caldwell → pay → language

“You can incorporate sound, dialogue, touch, smell, thoughts. asserted

You → incorporate → thoughts

As such, adverbs and adjectives, along with clichés, direct metaphors and similes, can go. asserted

adverbs → go → clichés

“Don’t worry if it doesn’t seem to be great literature,” he says, suggesting the journey is more important than the destination. asserted

journey → worry → destination

“Many of the problems people have are because we’re not focused on what we’re doing. asserted

we → have → what

Writing haiku concentrates our attention in the now.” asserted

Writing → write → now

Paul Connolly writes the regular Kitchen Sink Drama column for Good Weekend magazine. asserted

Connolly → write → magazine

Read more from Good Weekend: - Liane Moriarty, the queen of “domestic noir”, revisits her most captivating characters a decade later - asserted

Moriarty → read → characters

From share houses to dinner parties: The 2kg book that became a Gen X rite of passage - ‘Very few people can do what she does’: How Jane Harper became one of the world’s biggest crime authors asserted

Harper → become → authors

Get the best of Good Weekend delivered to your inbox every Saturday morning. asserted

best → get → inbox

Continue this edition The October 17 editionUp next Previously The national broadcaster’s first national disability affairs reporter on how parents and children react to her blindness. asserted

parents → continue → blindness