Sarah Lolley
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The Creative Gifts of Confinement

7/16/2020

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Cryptic crosswords are the epitome of creativity in confinement.
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There’s the confinement of the grid, which is typically square and symmetrical, with clear conventions on the placement of lights (white squares). Then there are the clues, which require mathematical precision in their construction (if you’re a Ximenean constructor like me, anyway).

One might think that confinement like this would squash any creative instinct. But instead, creativity thrives.

Just think of the all-lights grid that Fraser Simpson created for The New Yorker when told that the print magazine could not support a typical 15x15 grid. Just think of the endless parade of clever clues we read every week. A few Saturdays ago, my favourite part of Fraser Simpson’s puzzle was the way in which he used the answer of one clue as the definition portion of the next:

3 Down: 
Going it alone, Han? (6, 4)
4 Down: Foreign capital 3-Down (4)


When the lockdown first happened, it was still winter here and Montrealers were told not to leave their neighbourhoods. To motivate my kids to go outside, I wrote an interactive neighbourhood mystery story that is played using local landmarks as hints. I made it freely available to everyone in the community and it was so popular that I wrote a second. (You won’t be able to solve them unless you actually play the games -- sorry, non-Montrealers!)
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Then, one day, I found a gorgeous locking leather briefcase being given away. The question came to me immediately: could I create an Escape Room-style game that could be played at home, without any fears of COVID exposure? Rather than break OUT of a room, could I create a game in which players break INTO the briefcase (and the myriad other locks inside)? And could I make it something that would entertain and maybe even educate kids, who have been forced to endure so much boredom during the pandemic? And couples who are longing for a fun Date Night?
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It took several weeks of puzzling, and the carpentry work of my father (thanks again, Dad!), but I now have two Locked Box Mystery games available for rent: one for kids and one for adults. Adults stand to inherit a substantial sum if only they can locate the bank account number and passcode. Kids have been recruited by INTERPOL to help catch a couple of international jewelry thieves.
The reception has been incredible. 
And knowing that I'm helping to create some fun where previously there was boredom is a real thrill.

Have you noticed the same thing about creativity in confinement? What has the lockdown done for your sense of creativity? And what creativity have you seen from others that's been a balm when you needed it?


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Deliberate, Three Ways.

7/11/2020

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This little gem from Fraser Simpson gave me pause a few weeks back:

     Considered deprived of freedom? (11)

The lockdown was brutally difficult in my household. With two little kids home from school and daycare, and two full-time jobs that still needed to get done, plus all the usual grind of groceries and cooking and cleaning and laundry, and all the added fear of a poorly-understood yet highly contagious virus, the lockdown, that period of de-liberation, was anything but a period of ample time for thought in our household. 

In fact, that wonderful Fraser Simpson clue above was part of a massive, 24x24, all-lights cryptic crosswords puzzle — something I’d heard of but never seen. But instead of a thrill of excitement on discovering the grid, I felt the bitterness of knowing I would not have the opportunity to do it. When I heard George Saunders advise his creative writing students to journal, I nearly cried. It was all I could do to meet my work deadlines and keep my kids safe and semi-entertained. Deliberation was a luxury I couldn’t afford.
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​And yet, the more the pressures of the lockdown squeezed me, the more something creative and thoughtful within me fought back. No matter how busy I was, my mind lapsed into periods of reflecting and imagining and planning.
I got back to blogging after a long hiatus, as you see. I took the plunge into teaching cryptic crosswords through Zoom, which I absolutely adore. I created neighbourhood-specific interactive adventure games and a form of “Escape Room in a box”, which I’ll write about in my next entry.

But all of this was hard-won. It required intention. I had to snatch minutes wherever I could (often during middle-of-the-night insomnia) and fight against the pull of despair that the news and circumstances inspired. 
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When my children tantrumed, fed up with the confinement and isolation and fear, I had to dig deep (very deep) for emotional resolve.

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But then again, so did everyone. No matter our circumstances, no matter how relatively easy it was or how rough, we all had to become very deliberate in our actions, from the medically necessary (washing hands and not touching our faces) to the aspirational (exercising more, following through on learning new skills).

I came across this article from the BBC a few weeks ago about people who have received surprising messages of apology from their exes (and another one published yesterday). When I first read it, all I saw was the de-liberation of confinement and the deliberation it provoked. But these thoughtful individuals were also deliberate: they didn’t just think about how they had treated their exes poorly, they deliberately got in touch and apologized.

I’m still working out how I can do “deliberate” three ways in a clue, bringing in the intentionality that Fraser Simpson’s clue didn’t have. Here’s my best attempt so far:

         Think “lock up?” on purpose (10)

But I’m sure you can do better. How would you clue all three definitions of “deliberate”?
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When the student is ready...

7/8/2020

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It's incredibly exciting and satisfying to receive emails from readers who say that the tutorial on this blog helped them learn to solve cryptics. 

It's even more fun to see them learn face to face, which is why I've launched a six-part course introducing people to cryptic crosswords. It's taught through Zoom, so it's available to everyone, anywhere in the world. There are weekly lessons, plus worksheets to help the concepts sink in. 

If you'd like to take one, or if someone you know might enjoy it, send me a message through the Contact Me link to learn about rates and the upcoming course schedules. 
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    About Sarah

    I'm a writer, adventurer, amateur setter of cryptic crosswords, lover of "ah-ha!" moments, and exhausted mom.

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