Cheatsheet for Haiku Apprentices - A quick-reference guide to the essential resources every new haiku writer needs

If you’re just beginning your haiku journey—or returning to it with fresh eyes—this three-page cheatsheet gathers the core resources, concepts, and starting points that will help you grow faster and write more confidently.

This guide distils the essentials every new haiku writer should know:

• What makes a haiku a haiku
• How to understand and use kigo (season words)
• How to recognize the kireji (the cut) and why it matters
• Where to find the best beginner and intermediate haiku books
• Where to read classical masters and living poets
• Which organizations and groups support new writers
• Where and how to publish your haiku
• A handy chart of hashtags for sharing haiku on social media
• A link to my free haiku-analysis tool, Is This A Haiku?

Everything is presented cleanly and simply—so you can keep writing rather than hunting around the Internet for trusted resources.

🌱 Who this is for

• Complete beginners curious about haiku
• Poets returning to haiku after years away
• Writers who want a reliable map of the haiku landscape
• Teachers looking for a compact introduction to share with students
• Anyone interested in the traditional and contemporary haiku world

🎁 Pay What You Want

The cheatsheet is free, but if you’d like to support my haiku books and tools, you can pay whatever feels right.

📄 What’s inside

• 3-page printable cheatsheet (PDF)
• Beautiful full-page cover
• Clear, direct definitions
• Organized links to trusted resources
• Social media hashtag guide
• Contemporary and classical reading recommendations

✨ Bonus

Includes a link to Is This A Haiku?, my free tool that analyzes your haiku and offers suggestions for improvement.

Start here. Keep it simple. And enjoy the path of haiku—one observed moment at a time.