12 Comments on Games writers play

TheOne on Jan 12, 2010 at 21:31pm



I don’t know if I qualify as writer, only recently writing my first real story, not yet finished. I never got used to crosswords but I play Scrabble proficiently, Hangman, and occasionally ponder Scramble (the one where the letters are out of order). I guess I think crosswords silly because of an experience I had of this 30something yr. old lawyer(true story), who was answering a crossword and had to look at a globe to figure out what the 10-letter word for a continent in the south pole was. (Being erudite in science, I guess I take it for granted that everyone should know where the continents are.) However, I don’t believe games are as important as reading or even watching movies for developing writing skills. That is sort of the game I do most. If I havn’t written well enough to be as good in my opinion as another writer…time to start over.

hillbilly on Jan 12, 2010 at 22:05pm



So it’s not just me, then! I was about to go and get pills from the doctor. The voice recognition thing on the telly is FAR more interesting than the programmes! And I do the texting thing as well. I wrote a blog about what happens when you put Shakespeare into predictive text – I came up with all kinds of ideas for new plays.

The teleprompting during the Eurovision song contest is the funniest thing ever.

Claire Fogg (Publisher, Yearbooks) on Jan 13, 2010 at 09:43am



My modern equivalent is the voiceover track/band listing function on my iPod Shuffle. It tells me I’m listening to Florence Plus the Machine (Florence and the Machine) or the Soujar Hill Gang (Sugar Hill Gang) etc. I think this might only be amusing when you’re actually listening to it as the absurdity catches you unaware.

Emma Burstall - journalist and novelist on Jan 13, 2010 at 15:30pm



How funny! I adore crosswords and do (or attempt) the Guardian quick crossword every day. It gives me enormous pleasure to get a difficult clue right, and I’m afaid I become quite grumpy when something foxes me. I used to enjoy predictive text too but don’t have it on my new BlackBerry. However, I’ve now taken to playing Wordmole compulsively. Have any of you tried it? Great fun!

TheOne on Jan 14, 2010 at 20:13pm



Good for you! In my entire life, I’ve only played crossword less than 10 times. They say doing crosswords stimulates the brain. I’ve always wanted to test that theory. You know, that gives me an idea! We should play a word game sometime, taking turns to see which of us knows the meaning of more words. It could be a great learning experience for us and might increase our vocabulary. Well?

Christina on Jan 15, 2010 at 20:05pm



I am not a scrabble or crossword persion but I have to admit when reading something in a paper or magazine I have a bad habit, if you want to call it that, of noticing when there are to many spaces between words or no space at all and especially the typing errors. I think I do it because I know that I myself have to be very careful about my spelling and don’t always catch an incorrecting spelling. It gives me much pleasure to know that I am still not the only one and it still gets into print.

Roger Fagan on Jan 15, 2010 at 22:33pm



The games writers play, other than people watching, mine is a suitable case for treatment, I get most passive humour muting my TV, tuning into The Simpsons, and then selecting subtitles from the menu. The computers version of what they’re saying is frequently hysterical. It occasionally matches medical terminology with cookery and kitchen items.

Roger Fagan on Jan 15, 2010 at 22:39pm



Ref Crosswords, – I’ve suffered a form of maternal elitist bullying since early childhood.
My Mother who is now ninety, has done the Guardian crossword all her life. I pop round to see her, she’s poring over her morning toast and tea, hardly raises her head, we have a conversational ping pong, but , occasionally, she hesitates and moves her fingers rhythmically, silently counting the letters in a particular word, and then, the absolute killer move, she picks up the pen and fills in the whole grid! – she doesn’t put pen to paper until she’s solved the whole thing. I’ve chewed a lot of pencils down and still been left with lotsa blank squares. Crushing.

lilya03 on Jan 18, 2010 at 00:36am



My guilty pleasure? The Antiques Roadshow. Mind you, I can’t help think that using the words guilty and Antiques Roadshow is a bit of an oxymoron (unless, I suppose, it is your intention to ‘liberate’ those antiques). I have no interest in antiques, have never collected them, nor would I ever be able to afford them if I wished to do so. My interest lies in the reaction of the punters, as they eagarly wait the value of their treasure. The slightly raised eyebrow, the twitching mouth, the astonished smile but always, always so restrained and thoroughly British about the whole thing. You can bet you life, I was told my throw away car boot find was worth a few grand my reaction would be ‘vocal’ to say the least. But what about afterwards? Did the man who was told he had £30k worth of artwork in one tiny miniture, really follow through on his promise to keep it in the bank? Or did he end up with a new conservatory and a week in the Maldives?
I guess it’s just another form of people watching. I do the same in supermarket queues and it is SO tempting to examine other people’s wares. I like to think of their lives, their stories. Mind you, others have simply accused me of being plain nosey.

Alison Baverstock on Jan 18, 2010 at 13:10pm



I so agree – I think one of the qualifiers for being a writer is being nosey – it’s part of the job. And I am equally committed to the antiques programmes on television, although my particular tipple is ‘Dickinson’s Real Deal’. Apart from being interested in the reactions of the punters, I am often surprised at their negotiating skills, or rather lack of them. So often they accept an offer too quickly, or are a little too confrontational.

And it was on the this programme that I saw a fascinating example of the power of celebrity. Two truly dreadful pictures came up for consideration – indifferent composition, poor brushwork and not very appealing colours. The value however was in the signatures – as both were by a Kray Brother. These names, and the class paperwork attached to the back of each canvas, turned something that was not normally saleable into a really marketable commodity, which to his credit, the dealer approached declined to profit from. Fascinating moral and societal issues to discuss with my publishing students, and in a context other than books!

oneday on Jan 19, 2010 at 15:25pm



Like Alison I am not drawn to crosswords or scrabble but love the idiocies of my predictive text . I also love codeword puzzles where your only clues are word pattern and letter frequency. I really did love reading dictionaries as a child and when I was teaching my pupils were bemused by my ability to get excited about words! This is my first post as I have just discovered this website and I look forwadr to reading and finding out more!

Cressida Downing (Editorial Consultant) on Jan 19, 2010 at 17:31pm



My mother and I really enjoy eavesdropping, it’s a guilty pleasure! Especially if you get a snippet of a really interesting story. It can keep us chatting for hours. If we go out for a meal, it’s like getting an extra pudding if you hear something exciting!

Cressida