Puzzle Pieces

I’m a sucker for puzzles. Nothing makes me happier than finding a solution. Must. Solve. Puzzle. Nearly any type of puzzle, as long as a bit of challenge exists, will keep me amused for quite a while. The sense of accomplishment is one of the reasons I like learning new things and coding (which involves figuring out how to turn what you want to do into terms the computer can understand and execute).

I was struck the other day by how similar writing is to a jigsaw puzzle. The only problem is instead of getting a box with a photo containing another copy mounted on cardboard cut into interesting little shapes, you construct your own box, draw your own pictures and cut out your own pieces, all while blindfolded and wearing gloves.

Or is that just me?

I may appear to be on a quest to find The Magic Formula<tm>. It’s not that cut and dried. Instead, I prefer to think I’m seeking a magic process. What if you simply made a slight twist and popped out a couple of pieces and switched ’em like when you got super-frustrated with a Rubik’s Cube? Although, that might suit if a scene is misplaced, but unless you started with 6 sides of colored squares you’ll have a big mess.Must. Solve. Puzzle.

First, I need to remember the rules of the game are to be learned. Practice on easier levels should come before trying to master the expert ones. (Yeah, I hated training wheels too.)

So, viewing a story as a puzzle requiring clues, set-ups and pay-offs to get the rewards helps me understand why I came back to writing and why, this time, I’m sticking with it much longer than before when I ignored the mechanics.

The other thing I’ve been ignoring my background of building stories in a radically different medium. I wrote, scripted and coded for a text-MUD for over a decade.

I think if I consider a story to be the equivalent of an area (i.e. a section of the game based on a single theme such as “Arabian Nights” or “Victorian London”). I need to block in the rooms (theme/premise), figure out all quests belong (plot), decide on the list of mobs (characters and their stories) and which kinds of props and window dressing are necessary objects (scenes and sequels).

The advantage building an area had over writing a story was the interactive and emergent aspects which covered a multitude of sins. I’m also unsure of my ability to work in a non-linear fashion. Thinking of the process in familiar terms might help, but I suspect the pieces aren’t lined up in quite the correct order yet.

Hmmm. Perhaps I should try writing a story set within one of the areas I designed. I could also take one of my characters and try to write their quest steps. Can’t hurt, right?

Must. Solve. Puzzle.