Remember last week when I posted about my new obsession with online jigsaw puzzles?
We were having a GIGANTIC thunderstorm so I went downstairs where the noise from the hail wasn’t quite so deafening and tried to distract myself with a jigsaw puzzle.
One of the other “weighty mental paths” I traveled while I worked on it ended up being something I keep thinking about.
I’m a plotter by nature. I outline my books start-to-finish before I ever begin writing them. I like organization. I make lists for practically everything. At my house I have “a place for everything and everything in its place.” A new set of nesting Tupperware makes me positively giddy.
I began to wonder if there was a correlation between my love of crosswords and jigsaws and the way I live my life.
This is how PUZZLING INK, book 1 in my Crossword Mysteries begins.
The perfection of a pristine crossword puzzle grid always made Quinn Carr’s pleasure center buzz. Like being touched by the hands of a lover, but better. Not like she’d felt that in a while, but she had a vague memory.
The puzzle was orderly. Symmetrical. No chaos. No mess. No negotiation. Only one correct answer.
A puzzle grid never looked at you funny when you agonized over some marketing sociopath who couldn’t understand that “pepper, black” was worlds apart from “black pepper.”
Crossword puzzles never judged you. Unlike the people who thought they knew all about you simply because you were in your thirties, had to move home with your parents, and needed—needed—to alphabetize their spices before you could continue creating the crossword puzzle for the local Chestnut Station Chronicle.
Quinn Carr, as you might know, has recently been diagnosed with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, which really rocked her world. OCD is fairly common and there is an enormous spectrum of behaviors, but basically it’s a condition where someone might have unreasonable thoughts or fears (obsessions) that lead to repetitive behaviors (compulsions).
When I started thinking about the hook of crosswords for a cozy series, I wondered what kind of person would be really good at creating crosswords. Obviously, it would be someone who liked order.
As it occurred to me that Quinn would need to always bump up against herself in these books, I realized she probably required a diagnosis of OCD. Guess what are the four main ways OCD manifests? Contamination and washing; doubt and checking; taboo thoughts; and … order and arranging.
Thus was Quinn born.
I did a lot of research and interviewed a lot of people who are challenged by OCD and I’ve been told I’ve done an excellent job with my portrayal of Quinn, which thrills me. I didn’t want her to be a caricature, but I also didn’t want her diagnosis to define her. I wanted her to be fully realized, but with a bit of baggage. I’ve also had a lot of people write to me and tell me how happy they were to see mental health issues brought up in cozies. We all struggle with something, right? That makes us human.
I declined to write more than three books in the Crossword series because I felt like I did what I set out to do with them. (Plus, they were really hard to write! I had to learn to construct crosswords as well, which is a story for a different day.)
But I’m proud of those three books and think about Quinn quite often. Especially when I’m solving a jigsaw puzzle or crossword.
I’ve come to realize I’m drawn to order instead of chaos, neat rather than messy. I’ve always been this way so it makes perfect sense that I’m a plotter rather than a pantser when I write. I’ve never even attempted to write anything without a framework in front of me. (You might not be surprised to learn that I make my grocery list in the order I travel my grocery store, and not even with one of those pre-printed ones. Off the top of my head! They recently remodeled my store and, needless to say, that certainly threw a wrench in my works!)
Now, if I could only figure out a way to organize those hail storms. Or supermarket managers.
Let’s take an informal poll—are you an organizer who likes puzzles? An organizer who doesn’t like puzzles? Do you run your life by the seat of your pants but enjoy the control of solving a puzzle? Does chaos infuse every aspect of your being?
Chicks on the Case 
I would call my method disorganized organization. I have piles of stuff but I know what is in which pile unlike my husband who can’t remember where he left his coffee cup.
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LOL! My husband does everything possible NOT to ask me where something is because even when I don’t do it, he feels my eye roll deep in his soul. But c’mon … he’s lived here the same amount of time I have!!
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I am both. For the most part I am a spontaneous person. I hardly every plan meals ahead, as I can change my mind between breakfast and lunch. But my desk is neat and tidy, and my 480 coffee mugs are all in their place and I can put my hands on a certain one at any moment. (That is unless my son comes in and moves them to see if I would notice. YES I DO!)
My sister suffered from OCD and I saw how difficult her life was. I, on the other hand will tend to change course midstream if distracted. My piano teacher called it doing things “A la Carol”.
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I’m not particularly spontaneous, but I have my moments. We have this couple we’d like to see more of, but they are ONLY spontaneous and we are really … yanno … not. The meal planning makes me laugh, Carol, because I like not having to decide about what to eat except once a week. Mostly, if I have to decide, I either just won’t eat, or I’ll eat a quart of ice cream. I don’t know what that says about me!
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I am an Uber organizer by trade. As an accountant I have to be organized. It’s the same why with my writing. I might veer off path, but I always start with an outline and lots of lists.
In the house it’s a different story. I try to stay organized, but the hubbs always thwarts my efforts. Since his items own 90% of the household space, there’s only a couple of corners neat and tidy. Those would be mine. And no matter how fast I deal with things, it’s a never ending growing battle.
Yes, I am one of those women who try to straighten up my house before the maids show up!
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Since I can’t see anyone’s names today, I’m using context clues and guessing that this is Tammy! I have to give you credit for not throttling your hubs. It would drive me nuts to have mine not on the same … ahem … page as me. Thank goodness we’re pretty simpatico. (I also know his tolerance is lower than mine. If I leave the dishes in the sink, I know he’ll wash them!)
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I’m one foot in, one foot out. I love to have my drawers VERY organized, but things can pile up on the counter and not bother me. Another thing I love to do is set up systems, like a filing system for my file cabinets. Then stacks collect on top the need to be put into my neat, orderly folders.
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Ohmygosh … how much do I love systems!! Now that you mention it, it doesn’t bother me to have a pile of folders and papers on top of my file cabinet waiting to get dealt with. A thousand years ago, I worked at an insurance company. My colleague would clear her desk at the end of every day, but I had to leave my piles on mine. I was afraid I’d forget to do something. I’ve gotten much better now. Why? Because of my systems!!
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I think I’m somewhere in the middle. Have a plan, but allow for unexpected adventure.
Although in the grocery story, unexpected adventure can be expensive, so I really try to stick to the list. LOL
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Hi Liz! I know this is you because I see your photo! People always think that because I outline that means I don’t deviate or write spontaneously, but that’s so not true. My outline allows for that “unexpected adventure” but keeps me from getting too far into the weeds without a way back. And you’re right about the grocery store! During the pandemic when I was always masking, I didn’t wear my glasses. It was amazing how low our grocery bills were. Outta sight, outta mind!
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Firstly, you wrote it correctly, of course, but I read “… went downstairs where the noise from hell wasn’t quite so deafening…” I have coffee, I’ll be fine. Secondly, I call my life controlled chaos. Take it as you will. I have things organized, but then I also have random piles (3) of eau de la caa caa. Heay, I remember to feed Daisy three times a day- I’m a winner! LOL. (Yes, three- lunch is carrots)
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LOL! Potato, potahoh, right? As long as everyone mostly gets their needs met, all is well, regardless of any system or any chaos, I guess. Enjoy that coffee!
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I’m most definitely an organizer who likes puzzles–crosswords and Wordle, of late–and always have various written lists going, of what to do and what to buy. But I’m also most definitely NOT a clean freak, and will happily pick up that potato chip that fell on the floor and pop it into my mouth.
And yes, I’m mostly a plotter when I write. Though of late, I’ve strayed a bit into the pantser lane when I get to that messy middle and have no idea where I want my plot to go. I’ve found that simply writing and getting on with it can sometimes spark my brain to figure out where exactly I’m going.
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More power to you, Leslie, for tackling Wordle. I’m afraid I’ll get addicted so I’ve never played. I hadn’t thought about it before, but I’m like you. I like having everything neat, where it belongs and such, but clean? Entirely different story. I blame it on the dog, of course, because we absolutely cannot keep up with the fine patina of dog hair covering every horizontal surface … so why even bother? (Again, though, hubs to the rescue. He has a lower tolerance and gets busy cleaning way more often than I do!)
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Dog hair–yes! It’s everywhere! And Robin’s like your hubs; she has a way lower tolerance for dust/dog hair/etc., and will get cleaning before I do. But she doesn’t mind things messy. I guess we’re like Jack Sprat and his fat-loving wife.
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Honestly, I think that’s the secret to a long and happy marriage. We each have tolerance for something different, a kind of symbiosis. When we were raising kids, we could intuit when the other had only one last nerve and could take over duties.
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Okay, this is weird. Everyone’s name is coming up as [1]. Stupid tech! Does it look like that for everyone or just me??
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Same here. Kaye George
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For me, also, Becky. So weird.
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SO WEIRD!!!
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I may not love order, but that’s driving me nuts! (Maybe it’s the editor in me?)
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Seems to be back properly now. Ghost in the machine!
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Yep–that’s what I’m seeing, too. So strange!
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Lisa here. So funny, Becky, because just as I write in a completely opposite manner than you, I am okay with spontaneity and chaos. (Well, within limits.) I do like my desk neat, mostly because I’ll become distracted if it isn’t. I love creating lists and crossing things off–but usually the items get moved forward to a new list. Maybe you love order in part because you had tons of siblings and my only sibling was in college by the time I was 4. I had plenty of room to be messy (within hygienic bounds), so I had to train myself to be neat at summer camp and college.
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That’s entirely possible, Lisa. I didn’t have my own room until I was a junior in high school. All 10 of us lived in a little cracker box of a house, with only one bathroom, I might add! And now that you mention it, I can’t think of any siblings who are too chaotic. Hmm. I think we just did science here, Lisa!!
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I like order and pre-planning, but I must say, when I’m on a deadline, I ignore everything else around me!
P.S. I’m also seeing “[1]” show up.
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I have a friend whose family knows to stay away when she’s wearing her Revision Bathrobe!
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Revision Bathrobe–love it!
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I’m seriously a pantser. I don’t even write in order, beginning to end. I write scenes as they become clear to me, then go back and fill in. Obviously, this leads to massive revisions. My process is not efficient, but it’s just the way my mind works.
I’m good at crossword puzzles, but painfully slow with jigsaw puzzles.
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Interesting, Vickie. You’re an enigma! I can’t even conceive of writing scenes out of order. How would that even work?? I’m not sure it’s actually legal so you better check in to that.
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I absolutely love that you created a character with neurodiverge with such love, care and authenticity. ❤️
I like the idea of organization, but in practice…well, let’s just say I’m a big believer in junk drawers.
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Thanks, Kathy, and LOL about the junk drawer. You won’t be surprised to learn that mine is completely organized, eh? I reorganized it a few years ago and posted a pic on facebook. Every year on the anniversary I post a comparison picture. It still looks exactly the same!
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Ha! You sound like my mother-in-law. Her “junk” drawers were much neater than my regular ones! If you ever get a hankering to organize, come on over!
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Love this, Becky! I’d say I’m an organizer who doesn’t like puzzles. But… I’ve been making them for my book covers to share with readers for a little fun activity. And now I’ve come to enjoy puzzles. But I don’t think I’ll ever love crossword puzzles. That’s why I’m so impressed by your series!! Putting clues into the puzzles? That’s ten outta ten, as my kid would say.
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I’m always surprised when you say you don’t like crosswords, Ellen. My theory is that you like xwords just fine, but it’s the sitting still for so long that annoys you! You’ve probably heard me tell the story of having to change a suspect’s name because I couldn’t fit it into the puzzle and it needed to be a clue. Those puzzles were hard to create … and I have software! Can’t imagine how people used to do it with just graph paper. Oy!
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