Puzzled?

You’re not goofing off, you’re just developing wordplay skills

If Dave Thompson weren’t so easy to love, he’d be impossible to take.

rur-120700 (11) — **BRAIN TEASER:** Work out your brain for wordplay at Dave Thompson’s puzzle site.

Both brilliant communicator and mathematical mastermind (I know! I had no idea these folks existed either!), Thompson directs PR efforts for the Oregon Department of Transportation by day and produces a puzzle blog by night. In his spare time, he’s a fabulous dad and devoted PRSA leader. (Plus he’s a hilarious raconteur and my favorite happy hour partner in Portland.)

I myself would never even attempt to solve one of Thompson’s Sodukos. But if you enjoy puzzles, rest assured: Magic Word Square isn’t a fascinating waste of time, it’s a fabulous way to train your brain for wordplay.

At Magic Word Square, you’ll find a new word puzzle each day and its solution the next morning. The puzzles start out simpler on Monday and grow more sophisticated by Friday.

On Saturdays, you’ll find “Tom Swifties,” where you solve a series of small Sodukos to spell out an adverbial pun that simultaneously describes a speaker and refers to the speaker’s statement.

“Once you’re done, you’ll groan out loud, if I’ve done my job,” Thompson says. “The adverbial puns are BAAAAD.”

Intrigued? Check out my favorite Dave Thompson puzzle and its solution.

Play With Your Words
There’s a little piece of your brain — the Broca’s area — that’s helps you choose from among the many messages you get each day.
Well-worn phrases and familiar ideas don’t activate the Broca’s area. But creative techniques like wordplay do.
Would you like to learn to tickle your readers’ Broca’s area with wordplay? If so, bring Ann in to present Master the Art of Storytelling — a one- to two-day creative-writing workshop — to your team.
You'll learn to flip phrases; compress details; list, rhyme and twist — even coin new words — to cut through the clutter of competing messages.
Book in-house workshop.