March 2025 SOLC–Day 14
A huge thank you to Two Writing Teachers for all that they do to create an amazing community of writers and a safe, welcoming space to write, learn, share and grow.
http://www.twowritingteachers.org
This post also serves as a Poetry Friday piece today. If you’re interested in checking out what’s on offer poetically, Janice Scully is hosting the Roundup at her blog.
WARNING: SPOILER ALERT: DO NOT read this if you haven’t played Wordle yet today!!!
I’m pretty sure there are many unrecognized psychological profiling “tells” in our daily lives. We’ve often joked at school that screeners should add a question about “takes shoes off in class”. (How many of you are nodding your heads right now?) Another one might be if you use the same word or different words each day when you play Wordle. I can see the point for each choice, but I do wonder what it says about us.
Wordle is an entrenched part of my morning routine. Full disclosure: I choose a different word every morning. I don’t know what the says about me, but I typically go with whatever feels right for that day, even if it doesn’t “feel” smart phonologically. Sometimes I’m trying to set a tone for the day. Sometimes I’m thinking about the weather. Sometimes a word just pops into my head. I’ve used the word “tired” a lot this year.
This morning I pulled up the screen. What should I start with?
I glanced at the almost-over lunar eclipse out my window, and regretted not rising in the wee hours to see if the clouds had dispersed. Oh, well. Moon is too short….moony? Nah, that’s not a word …Is it?
I hesitated, then moved on. Peace? That sounds good except the double e feels risky on a first guess.
“Clear” popped into my head. This one combined the unexpectedly clear skies, and also felt like a nice tone for the day.
I typed it in. C L E A R.
1 yellow and 1 green. Not too bad.
Next guess?
Here’s where more phonics comes into play.
I don’t think the “c” will come right before the e…that’s not too common…though “scene would work”… “c” is also probably not the last letter because that would need a vowel before it and the letter before that’s an e…does anything end in “eic”? It could end in “ect” though….erect? Oh, no, there’s no “r” in the word so that can’t be it. Eject? Elect? Either one of those would work. Hmmmm….I don’t think the Wordle makers want to touch on “elect” as anything with the whiff of politics feels deadly these days…although the word was “greed” the other day… I know someone I’d like to eject…
I type in E J E C T.
Ok, that yellow e must go at the end. What ends in “ece”? …Oh! I’ve got it!
I quickly type in P I E C E.
Yes! (Please note the irony that I did initially think of beginning with the word “peace”.)
Now the second layer of fun starts. On most days, I take my Wordle guesses and write a poem in my notebook. They often go in odd directions and lately tend to be bleak. (Surprise!) I don’t usually share them as they are very “drafty” and really just a fun exercise.
Here’s what happened today…
Batten Down the Hatches
Clear feels like a goal–
a nice lens for the day
Clear-headed implies level
clear sailing suggests an easy path
with clear skies ahead…
Ha! Eject that fantasy!
Storm clouds gather
unrelenting
in a tumult of turbulence
All eyes turn to the skies
Warning sirens sound louder and louder
ALARM ALARM ALARM
a constant background blare
inescapable
Everyone is uneasy
Is anything stable?
The winds howl
in a frenzy of acceleration
ALARM ALARM ALARM
What pieces of our lives
will be smashed and scattered?
What will transform unexpectedly
into the next deadly projectile?
Who knows how long the storm will last
Who knows what the toll will be
but surely it’s coming…
©Molly Hogan
So that’s what Wordle and Wordle poem-ing looked like this morning at my house. Do you play? Do you use the same first guess? Or even more interestingly, do you have any unrecognized psychological profiling “tells” to share?
Nix the comfort zone 
Ahhh, I literally JUST finished Wordle, the Mini, and Strands before I opened up Jetpack and saw your slice.
I, too, tend to try a different word every day — similarly, I allow something to pop into my head and so long as it has a good variety of letters, I go for it.
Not today. Today, I guessed AUDIO to see what vowels would be there. Just the I. Unhelpful! I had the I and the E for 2 guesses after that, with no consonants. Then guessed SIEGE after a loooong while, and finally PIECE.
Perhaps I should try a Wordle draft poem!
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I hope you do try to craft a Wordle poem. It’s fun!
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I’ve learned from you the joy of starting every day with a different word, a set-the-tone word, or a hopeful word, or a just plain random word. I opened the blind on the east window…wait a minute. What am I doing? I’m going to type this up as a slice!
Suffice it to say, I got it in three today as well, and I’ll try for a Wordle-ku.
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Getting Wordle in three always feels like a nice way to start the day. 2 is better, but 3 is respectable.
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Wordle! I love learning about other’s strategies. We know a husband and wife who play separately but show each other there words to help make their guesses. Hubby plays a word. The wife sees that word and makes her guess. Hubby sees his wife’s guess and makes his guess. Given that information the wife almost always get the answer in 2! Each to his own. As for me, I want a new word every day because I want a shot at the World Hall of Fame. To get in the WHF, one must get Wordle in 1! I’m not in the WHF, but using a new word gives me a better shot than STARE or some variation of that. As such, today I used the word OCEAN that I got from the five letter word game WAFFLE. I had the E in the right spot and had the C but not in the right spot. Since I had the E in the right spot I didn’t need to use the E in my second guess. I did need a word that moved the C around. I chose the word CHILD to try another vowel and four more consonants. I pretty much knew where the C had to be and became so bold to use two E’s and went for PIECE. I got lucky to get in three but that’s my strategy. Keep the Wordle blogs acoming.
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I have never entered the WHF but the benefit of writing Wordle poems is that more words is more fodder for writing. I almost feel sad sometimes when I get it in two!
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Some day, some day you’ll enter the Wordle Hall of Fame.
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My Wordle today:
learn
edict
piece
I always start with the same word. I use a combo of phonics and whatever pops into my head to proceed. I guess maybe current politics was on my mind with that guess of edict today…
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It’s hard to get current politics out of your head, right?!
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i saw your disclaimer, so I played first. (Lives, Chide, Niece, Piece). I usually start with Teach. It doesn’t lend itself to much poetically but I default to it most days. I have saved a number of screenshots of wordles thinking I’ll go back and write poems. It hasn’t happened yet. I’m glad it worked for you this morning.
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I’m not so sure that it worked today , as I essentially forced something out of it. It’s interesting to try to connect unrelated words. Somedays it yields such interesting results.
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I love this and the idea of a Wordle poem! This might just be a fun April poetry project! I used to use a different word each day, knowing if I didn’t, I couldn’t ever get it in one guess. I got it in one when I looked down and thought “Oh, plant.” But now I tend to go with ideal and pouty.
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Like I mentioned, “tired” has been a way too frequent first guess for me!
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Oh my gosh…the Wordle lovers! I love the way you shared your reasoning, and it’s the same for me-a different guess to begin each puzzle. I guessed the word in 3 tries also. Mostly, I love your poem! I’ve not tried to write a poem with my guesses and am going to take on that challenge. 🙂
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I love that you create a poem with your guesses! I play Wordle, but I start with the same word every day. If I were to create poems out of them, I’d definitely need to change my starting word.
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I’ve never played Wordle, but I love the poem you created with your guesses!
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My words for 3/14 were crane, spice, piece. I don’t always start with the same word, but I have a few go-tos. I never tried a wordle poem, but it sounds like fun. I’m reading and responding on Saturday, and today I got it in 2!
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My words for 3/14 were crane, spice, piece. I have a few go-to words, but don’t always start with the same one. A wordle poem sounds fun – will have to try it.
Today (Sat) I got it in 2!
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I generally use different words…sometimes I try to make it hard on myself. But the only time I got it in one was when I was doing that and I used “viola”!
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This is brilliant! I think I played Wordle once or twice when it became popular during the pandemic, but I somehow forgot about it – my mornings tend to be a bit frantic these days! But I love the strategy and phonics-knowledge that comes into play, and the way you turn it into poetry – truly a teacher at heart! 🙂
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I love what you do with your Wordle words.
(This poem ended with me feeling that storm, Molly.)
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[…] week Molly Hogan posted about writing Wordle poems, so I decided to give it a try. I usually choose from a handful of starter words, but one day last […]
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