Writing Haiku Best Practices

I have read a lot of Haiku lately that do not even look like haiku anymore. I guess these “modern” haiku do not have to follow any rules or best practices other then the 5-7-5 syllable format. A Haiku is a “formatted” Japanese form or poetry. I feel that taking away that formatting, no longer makes it a haiku.

These are the rules and best practices that I follow when writing my Haiku,

Obviously the 5-7-5 syllable format.
I feel a haiku should be about nature and contain “season” words.
I feel a haiku should not contain metaphors or similes -
As the play on words takes away from the haiku simplicity.
I feel a haiku should describe a single moment
I feel a haiku should use words like a, the, as, of, as little as possible.
I feel each line of a haiku should be relative to the other lines on some way.
I feel the last line of a haiku should be a “striking” or an “enlightening” line.
The three lines of a haiku should not rhyme.

These are the best practices I try to conform to when writing my haiku. If you have any comments or questions about this, feel free to comment.

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