A Word a Day

 

By Margie Senechal 

In the past couple of weeks I discovered the phenomena that is Wordle. I’m sure you’ve seen the little green and yellow boxes in your feeds as wordsmiths share their daily results. Wordle is a daily puzzle where you try to guess the word without any clues and only six tries. I’ve been successful so far except for once.

 There are many things to like about Wordle. It challenges your mind. Being a writer, it makes me think outside the box to come up with the right world. It’s a bit like playing Wheel of Fortune without a clue or Vanna White to flip the boxes.

 I usually play it first thing before my shower. I think it engages my writing brain. I set a 3K goal for the week and I’m at 1813—but my week starts on Monday and I haven’t written today, except for this blog. If I finish the blog soon, I’ll be able to get about 25 minutes in before I leave for work.

Another thing I like about Wordle is that you’re playing against yourself. Sure, I gage myself against others who post, but I’m not competing against them. Last week, an author I follow got it on the first guess. What the heck? How does that happen? And it was an odd word to use as your first guess. 

I generally go with Irate for my first guess and Sound as my second if I didn’t get many hits with the first guess. I get my vowels out and Wheel of Fortune’s five consonant choices as well.

The best thing about Wordle is that you only get a word a day. I could easily become consumed with this game and I like that it isn’t an option. I have plenty of games that have consumed me over the years, I don’t need another one. (Looking at you, Phase 10) 

Second best thing about Wordle is that there’s no time limit. If you don’t get it and are stuck, you can take a shower, do dishes, write a blog and go back to it on your time. Which will be me today. When I saw it stumped Liz, I knew it was going to be hard.

Now, onto putting other words in their places in my manuscript. Stay safe, friends and have a great weekend.