Comments on: Have You Written Yourself Into a Corner?

By: Your Blog: Time to Play

Your Blog: Time to Play — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 13:56:46 +0000

[...] while later I posted a puzzle – literally – and, under the guise of another writing post, challenged readers to do the [...]

By: Russ

Russ — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 05:24:26 +0000

One important caveat is that failing to find a solution doesn’t mean there isn’t one. Complicated problems can’t be attacked by trial and error; you have to step back and actually think about them. For this puzzle all it takes is a little thought about how the pieces have to connect up to see that there’s no solution, and this certainly beats drawing a bunch of lines.

By: Becca

Becca — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 22:13:47 +0000

I sent you an email with what I came up with and what it was that I found. I will admit that I didn’t even try it till I googled it. I always research things out as much as I can before I start to put all the info together.

I love reading your posts and look forward to each of your challenges. I am thankful for all I have learned by reading from you.

By: Larry

Larry — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 20:28:31 +0000

@Lira — awesome. Glad you get it. Hopefully you’ll never encounter that moment in your story when you realize it isn’t working. But now, if you do, you’ll understand your options and not try to force it into a direction it doesn’t want to go. We all do it, we all experience that.

May all your ideas be winners.

By: Lira

Lira — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 20:12:54 +0000

As I was reaching my eleventh iteration where 1 line was still left untouched, I was reminded of the last scene in War Games where the computer is playing tic-tac-toe with itself. And I quote…
“How about a nice game of chess?”

Futile games are only worth playing if you are willing to learn when to quit. Thanks Larry.

By: Larry

Larry — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 18:40:06 +0000

@Tim — bravo, sir. Looks simple at a glance, doesn’t it? Just like our “big ideas” sometimes seem like no-brainers when it comes to turning them into a story. But… it isn’t always what it seems, as is the case with this nasty little box. It’s critical that we not try to breath life into an idea that refuses to live, we need to recognize that point at which our time is better spent on another idea.

We’ve all had those ideas. Usually they end up being manuscripts that are never completed, or worse, “finished” yet unworkable. Abandoning such projects isn’t a failure, its a victory of the writer’s evolved sensibility.

Time is short. We need to invest our creative energy in ideas that not only will work, but are worth the investment of that time.

Nice going, Tim.

By: Tim Baker

Tim Baker — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 18:22:20 +0000

After spending two hours attempting to solve the puzzle and looking at it from many different angles I am convinced that it is impossible to solve with the given criteria.
I was able to find several “solutions” that left only one line un-crossed but I think the real lesson here is that some things are impossible no matter how hard you try or how “good” you are.
In those situations it is best to pick up stakes and move on – or – do the best you can and accept the results.

By: poch

poch — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 15:48:07 +0000

I haven’t tried the puzzle yet (I’ve solved many similar ones before -I’m a puzzle addict) but I just saw how excellent an illustrator or expounder of methodical writing you are Larry.

By: Nate Tucker

Nate Tucker — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 15:36:36 +0000

Larry, I love your blog. I threw together a quick, printable version of your game. Hope you don’t mind that I put your URL at the top of the PDF… Thanks for your great tips. They have helped my writing so much.

Here’s the URL:

https://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0B0LuDGvEmEgJMjk5NWUwMmEtYWNkNi00ZDUwLTllODAtZGFjNWI1NTNiNWM5&hl=en