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denise sutherland - puzzle writer
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I have been creating puzzles for longer than I can remember, probably starting with simple crosswords and find-a-words when I was a child. I think solving puzzles is a part of my make-up, as I have also always loved mystery novels, reading Encyclopedia Brown and the Bobbsey Twins when I was young, and graduating to Maigret, Inspector Morse, Dalgleish, Dalziel & Pascoe, Sherlock Holmes, Hercule Poirot, Rebus, Brother Cadfael, and many more! There are very few books out there on how to actually go about writing crosswords, find-a-words, drawing mazes and dot-to-dots, and so on. Mostly you have to 'pull apart' puzzles and figure out how they're done for yourself. I guess the puzzle of how to write puzzles is part of the challenge! Some books in my puzzle writing collection are :
Of course, a great deal of reference books are an essential part of any puzzle writer's 'tool kit'. The Australian Oxford Dictionary is my favourite reference dictionary, and the standard reference for all my crosswords. I also have a wide range of books of quotations, proverbs, word lists, and probably far too many crossword dictionaries. The internet supplies a readily accessible and fast source of reference material too, when used with discretion - I always make sure a site is a reputable one when relying on it for information. I love finding out about new things, and so I specialise in themed puzzles. Doing the research for these puzzles is a lot of fun, and then I can write an accurate and entertaining puzzle that hopefully engages both adults and children. I can create all of the following, at whatever level of difficulty is needed (young child, child, teen, adult) :
In general I find that picture-based puzzles take me a lot longer to design than word-based puzzles. Sometimes I can spend days getting a Spot-the-Difference just right. I tend to use archival material or reference photos for these sorts of puzzles (such as a photo of Parliament House being built in the 1920s), so I need to find a photo that is both interesting and suited to the puzzle - the search for the 'perfect photo' can take some time. I use resources such as Picture Australia and libraries. Drawing the picture takes a long time too, as I like to include a lot of detail. Then I have to create the second version of the picture with things both added and deleted. I do a lot of my drawing electronically, although not always. I have a Wacom drawing tablet instead of a mouse, and run a Mac Mini with System OSX. I layout my books and puzzles using the Abode Creative Suite 2 - Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign are my standard programs. I have custom-written puzzle software, courtesy of my rather excellent husband, Dr Ralph. This software helps me to create the grids and layouts for the word puzzles, ensuring that things like word lists and numbering are always correct, and allowing me to write themed word files. However, it does not place any words - every word in my puzzles is chosen and placed by me, and I also write all clues 'from scratch'. The hardest word puzzle to design is a Double Acrostic. In these puzzles there is a quotation which is 'deconstructed' into its component letters. These letters are then reformed into a series of words, which exactly uses up that set of letters. But not only that, the first letters of these words, when lined up, spell the name of the author of the quote! Great fun to solve, but very challenging to write. I have tried my hand at writing cryptic clues, but I haven't done enough of them to feel I can inflict them on an unprepared public - but maybe one day... you have been warned!
I have had crosswords published in the Bright Sparcs Teachers' Guide, the ACT Government's Reflections of Canberra CD-ROM (which I also designed), several home education magazines, the RSPCA (ACT) newsletter, and in various American newsletters. During 2003 I was the compiler of the crossword in the Capital Magazine, and am currently producing a series for the Australian Canegrower trade magazine. The Bre&d Puzzle Sheet was written and illustrated in 2004 for the Bathurst Region Eats & Drinks group, and you can see photos from the launch and read more about it here. My daughter Jenny and I went to Bathurst for the official launch of the puzzle sheet, which was a great treat for us. You might like to download the puzzle sheet. The Alice Springs School of the Air Puzzle Book (April 2004) was written with contributions from ASSOA students. Their drawings, jokes, and car games are included in the book, along with the usual compliment of crosswords, mazes, find-a-words and other puzzles. All puzzles are about the School of the Air, and the Australian outback. It is available from the ASSOA Visitors Centre in Alice Springs. I enjoyed working with the teachers, students and parents from ASSOA, even though it was all from a distance... maybe one day I'll get out to Alice Springs and I can meet some of them! The Fantastic Flying Doctors' Puzzle Book (April 2003) is available through your nearest Royal Flying Doctor Service Visitors' Centre. All puzzles relate to the history of the RFDS. I really loved researching and writing this book - I learnt a huge amount about this fascinating and inspiring organisation. Thousands of these books were given to schoolchildren in Melbourne as part of a education program. My first full book of puzzles, The Amazing Animal Puzzle Book, was written for the RSPCA (ACT) in November 2002. All the puzzles are about animals, from wildlife to pets. It should still be available through your local RSPCA shelter shop, and mail order. Call the ACT branch of the RSPCA on (02) 6287-8100 to find out more. |
last modified: 9 may 2006