A word to the writers of the world:

[conuly]

If the codewords are simply English words written backwards, or the hidden message in the letter involves reading the first letter from each word (or the first word from each sentence), and it takes your adult or "super intelligent" protagonists more than three minutes to figure this out, I'm gonna seriously question both your and their intelligence. I know you need to make a code that your characters and your readers can figure out, but by now I habitually read all unfamiliar words and names backwards, and also automatically read just the initials of any in-fiction letters. You can do better than this.

Comments

[jtthomas]

I default to commas and periods making morse code with the word stop meaning, well, stop.

[conuly]

Now THAT is worth a read.

[jtthomas]

My first time doing it was a Firefly fanfic back when I was 12-ish, writing out River's letters to Simon. It works, so I've kept it up since then. I'll see if I can scrounge it up tomorrow, it should be on a flash drive.

[amaebi]

I love where form criticism leads you. :)

[conuly]

I do make the exception for the Mirror of Erised, first because Harry is a particular unobservant child and second because she at least took the time to play around with the spacing.

[brokenallbroken]

I don't think the Mirror of Erised was meant to be a code, Watsonianly. Mirror writing around the frame of a mirror isn't a surprise or mysterious, although I'm now wondering what happens if you put a mirror in front of MoE.

But yes, that was particularly doltish of Harry to miss.

[nodrog]

A little-known fact:  Wm Shakespeare wrote the 46th Psalm, “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble”

Proof?  The 46th word is “shake” - and the 46th word from the end is “spear.”

Q E D.

[amaebi]

HOW UTTERLY CONVINCING!

[moon_custafer]

I have so many pet peeves that are kind of related to this trope:

Computer passwords that are (a) an easily-guessable personal reference, and (b) not case-sensitive.

Murder victims who took the time while dying to point to some object in the room that is a clever rebus on the murderer’s name, or some other kind of clue.

Similar to what you said above — villains whose pseudonym is an obvious anagram or translation of their regular name (kind of acceptable if they’re someone like the Riddler who canonically has a compulsion to show off like this; also props to the Joker in that one episode of Justice League for using “Gwynplaine Entertainment” as his front, because allusions to Conrad Veidt movies are always welcome.)

[conuly]

I mean, actual people have their password read PASSWORD all the damn time, truth in fiction!

But nobody bleeding out is going to have the strength of mind to write anything with said blood.

[nodrog]

“Speak, friend, and enter” - if the password were DROWSSAP analysts at the NSA would cry.  That’s the very thing that never occurs to anyone…

[calimac]

Re murderer's name clues, I always wonder, what if the murderer' name had happened to be something else not so convenient?

[fred_mouse]

Time travel where someone remembers their password from ten years ago!

[nodrog]

Worthie Sir John—Hope, that is ye beste comfort of ye afflictyd, cannot much, I fear me, help you now. That I wolde saye to you, is this only: if ever I may be able to requite that I do owe you, stand not upon asking of me. 'Tis not much I can do: but what I can do, bee you verie sure I wille. I knowe that, if dethe comes, if ordinary men fear it, it frights not you, accounting it for a high honour, to have such a rewarde of your loyalty. Pray yet that you may be spared this soe bitter, cup. I fear not that you will grudge any sufferings: only if bie submission you can turn them away, 'tis the part of a wise man. Tell me, an if you can, to do for you any thinge that you wolde have done. The general goes back on Wednesday. Restinge your servant to command.

R. T.

[conuly]

See, that's cleverer and I had to google it.

[jack]

Expert protagonist: Yay, we broke the code!
Expert protagonist: Oh, no, a further code! I have not been able to crack it in the first half-second, therefore I despair we ever will.
Amateur protagonist: Wait, this is about Leonardo Da Vince, right? What is the fact about his writing which is literally one of the most famous things about him!
Expert protagonist: Oh, of course! How wise of me to have brought along a trained amateur who, like lassie, can sometimes contribute practical help even in the face of my trained expertise.
Amateur protagonist: If only you'd noticed the letter frequency fit standard english letter frequency, you might have been able to guess what sort of code would have hidden the meaning, but, you know, not very much.
Expert protagonist: You've learned so much.
Amateur protagonist: After all, you were literally looking at it in front of a mirror, if only you'd shifted your eyes a few inches to the reflection before giving up, you would have solved it instantly.
Expert protagonist: OK, ok, well done, lesson over. I'll take over from here.

[moon_custafer]

I will accept a version of that from an old Rathbone/Bruce Sherlock Holmes movie, because it gave Moriarty to opportunity to chortle: “I was looking for a solution that was ingenious—this is ingenuous!”

[wendelah1]

If a writer expects me to figure out a code myself, I'll probably just quit the book. I quit reading The Westin Game which was written for elementary school kids because I am just that terrible at solving puzzles now. I'm trying to think if I was always this way but honestly, I can't recall.

[moon_custafer]

I was reading it for the characters, so I just waited for the puzzles to be explained by the narrative (they were more word games and allusions than a cipher anyway, iirc).

[conuly]

So long as I can read it without having to solve the puzzle, I am happy if somebody else can solve the puzzle.

[ayebydan]

indeed.

[ayebydan]

To defend the ridiculous young Harry Potter, that book was written when JK thought only 7-10 year olds might read her books. The Mirror of Erised presented a challenge but not one too difficult. Harry has also spent 5-6 years of school trying to remain dim. How to solve such things probably wasn't a skill he picked up so for the context of that particular canon it works.

The rest of the series, well yes Harry is not the observant sort of chap but then if the world just stared and whispered at me all the time I wouldn't bother knowing about them either.

[conuly]

I already read all weird words backwards by the time I was seven.

[elenbarathi.livejournal.com]

This! I will never forget the wizard Yriah Esra Eloh, though I don't now recall the book in which he appeared.

[conuly]

LOL!