Sarah Lolley
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Doing More With Less

4/5/2015

3 Comments

 
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I completely freaked out when I discovered that The New Yorker, my favourite magazine, at one time published cryptic crosswords edited by Fraser Simpson, my favourite cryptic crossword setter. An Amazon search had led me to the collection “101 Cryptic Crosswords: From The New Yorker”, published in 2001, and I couldn’t believe my eyes. How had it taken me so long to discover that such concentrated awesomeness exists? 

I added the collection to my Christmas wish list (it was December and my mother has spent years drumming it into me that you never buy yourself anything in that month). Then, I counted down the days to the 25th, hoping someone would get it for me.

Someone did. (Thank you again to my brother- and sister-in-law!) But when I tore into my newly acquired gift, I discovered something even more wonderful than I’d expected: a novel puzzle format. Unlike what I’m used to seeing in the Saturday Globe and Mail, the puzzles published in The New Yorker have no blank spaces; every square is home to a letter.

In this interview with The Nation, Fraser Simpson explained that although the magazine originally wanted a full-on variety puzzle, space constraints pushed the puzzle’s space allowance to a single column. Rather than give up on the project, as Will Shortz, his partner, thought they might be forced to do, Simpson devised an 8 x 10 grid. “The unusual size turned out to be a gem,” Simpson is quoted as saying.
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In The New Yorker puzzles, every square is home to a letter.
Since having my beautiful little girl, time has been in very short supply. But it turns out, this has been the best thing where my writing is concerned. In the past, my harsh inner critic would leave me staring at the blank page for hours. Now, I have no time for doubt; my daughter's nap will only last an hour, if I’m lucky, so I have to hit the page running.
I shouldn’t be surprised: plenty of writers have described how a shorter supply of time sharpened their focus. Alice Munro, my favourite Nobel prize winner, wrote while her children napped. Cryptic crossword aficionado and mystery writer Howard Shrier, at work on his first novel, would often get up “at four or five in the morning to get in a few hours before the kids woke up.”

Simpson’s constraints were temporary, and mine will be too. But until life opens back up again, I’m choosing to view the challenge as a gift.

What about you? 

Have you ever had to do more with less, and found yourself amazed by the results?
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Fraser Simpson designed The New Yorker puzzles to fit in a single column of the magazine.
3 Comments
Howard Shrier link
4/7/2015 12:00:03 am

Sure hope someone gets me that book. I enjoy Fraser Simpson too.
Cheers
Howard Shrier

Reply
Julie link
4/7/2015 05:03:15 pm

I have to get one now! I have seen this style by Richard E. Maltby Jr. puzzles in Harper's. You should be able to get that magazine in Canada. Then you can enjoy one of my other favourite cryptic xword blogs http://blog.tackyharperscrypticclues.com/ because who doesn't need another fun cryptic blog friend?

Reply
Sarah Lolley
4/8/2015 01:26:59 am

Julie, I'll look out for the Harper's puzzles. And thanks for the link to Tacky Harper's Cryptic Clues! I'm looking forward to exploring the site.

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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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