Word Games

I’ve played word games for as long as I can remember. Crossword puzzles, acrostics, Scrabble, Boggle, and MadLibs were all favorites before apps like Words with Friends, Lexulous, Upwords, and Wordle came on the scene. I love them all, and I play regularly with friends, strangers, and computers.

Recently my nephew told me about the New York Times daily puzzles, and I’ve added these to my routine. I get a lot of satisfaction out of solving the puzzles and competing against others, although I’m just as excited when another player comes up with a fabulous word as when I do.

My penchant for word games goes beyond pleasure, however. I believe word game proficiency helps authors write. Not such a leap in logic, since words are the author’s stock in trade, but I decided to analyze how word games help me with my writing.

1. The most obvious benefit is building vocabulary. The more words I am exposed to, the larger my writing vocabulary becomes. A word that appears in a puzzle today may be a new word, or a word I haven’t used in a long time, but the word moves to the forefront of my mind and may be just the right one for the sentence I’m writing now.
2. Most word puzzles are clever. They involve clues, puns, anagrams, palindromes, and other devices to create unexpected answers. The higher-level thinking generated can transfer from the puzzle to the author’s page. Creativity is born from clever thinking.
3. Word games offer humor, depth, and intrigue—all tools for the fiction writer.
4. In some word games, the player is offered choices for the correct word. Narrowing the choices is good practice for picking the right word to describe a character’s face, wardrobe, office, or feelings. Finessing the fine shades of meaning of words can make the difference between a successful title, description, or piece of dialogue.
5. The flip side of finding the right word is making a mistake. Failing to get the right word, in a crossword puzzle, for example, can mess up the whole puzzle. Similarly, failing to use the right word—the one with the exact shade of meaning, the best connotation—can make or break a piece of writing.

In short, the same skills I practice in word games help me write more efficiently and effectively. They give my prose more pizzazz and depth.

What do you think? Do word games help you speak, write, or think better? Which ones are your favorites?

Saralyn Richard plays word games and writes award-winning mysteries that pull back the curtain on settings like elite country manor houses and disadvantaged urban high schools. Her works include the Detective Parrott mystery series, Bad Blood Sisters, Mrs. Oliver’s Twist, A Murder of Principal, and Naughty Nana, a children’s book. An active member of International Thriller Writers and Mystery Writers of America, Saralyn teaches creative writing and literature. Her favorite thing about being an author is interacting with readers like you. For more information, check https://saralynrichard.com.