Writing in code can be a great way to keep yourself busy during the dull moments that can characterize some school days or simply to send a secret message to a friend. There are several ways to code, so you can learn how to customize your messages with a wide variety of styles. For example, you can use a different code for each person or for each day of the week. In any case, once you have learned the mechanics, writing in code will be extremely simple.
Steps
Method 1 of 4: Change the Order of Letters
Step 1. Write your message as you normally would
Before coding it to make it unreadable to most people, you need to be clear about the content you want to insert in the message. Depending on the level of secrecy you want to achieve, you may not want to share your information with those around you. This means that you will have to make sure that no one is watching you as you create the encrypted message, otherwise the underlying mechanism could easily be hacked.
If you're not sure if you can write your message without someone seeing it, you can choose to have it visualized in your mind. This step is certainly more complex, but it ensures that no one will ever find out what you are doing
Step 2. Rewrite the message text backwards
This is one of the simplest ways to encode text, especially if this is the first encrypted message you compose in your life. Take as the subject the message you wrote in the first step, then rewrite it backwards, proceeding one letter at a time. Start from the end, that is, from the last word in the lower right corner of the page, to move backwards towards the upper left, that is, do exactly the opposite of what you do when you type normally. After you finish rewriting your message, end it by entering the correct punctuation, this way the recipient of your text will understand where the coded message begins and ends.
Make sure you separate each word correctly, even if it may seem odd on the surface. Otherwise the text will be difficult to read and therefore to understand
Step 3. Separate each letter of your reverse spelled message with a number and a vowel or consonant
If you do not want to arouse suspicion, write the text of the message on a simple sheet of paper, then proceed as seen above, rewriting it backwards starting with the last word placed in the lower right corner of the page and moving backwards towards the upper left. of the sheet. After you have copied each letter of the original message, enter a number followed by any vowel or any consonant.
There is no rule for choosing which characters to enter as separators, so don't worry too long in this step. For example, the message "Hi, how are you?" could become: "Ia5A8lT1sS5h E2fMr3Of2Ca7 Oq2Ac7Id2Co2" (the letters of the original text have been capitalized to clarify the mechanism, in reality they can be written in lower case to further protect your information)
Step 4. Write the letters backwards
Another fun coding strategy is to write the letters that make up the message backwards. In this way the text will take on a strange and bizarre aspect. Before you get to grips with this writing methodology, chances are you will need to practice a little. Write the message text as you normally would, then observe the original structure. You need to start writing from the right side of the page by moving to the left side, using your left hand. Each letter will be written in reverse, in this way by rewriting the text from right to left all the vowels and consonants of the message will appear as written in the mirror.
- When you're done writing your message, place it in front of a mirror. You should see it written in the normal way. This is an advanced writing mechanism, so it may take some time to master it.
- If you are left handed, this type of encoding may be even more complex, but you will still have to write every single letter backwards starting from the right and moving to the left.
Method 2 of 4: Reverse the Alphabet
Step 1. Write the letters that make up the alphabet
First, it lists all the consonants and vowels present in the alphabet, leaving a large space under the letters to rewrite them in a coded key. It is important to properly organize your coding system so that it takes up a single page for easy reference. For best results, you should be able to write the entire alphabet on one line of the paper.
Step 2. Correlate each letter of the alphabet with the one in the same position, but in reverse order
After writing the alphabet in its normal form, rewrite it in reverse order. This means that the letter A must be associated with the letter Z, the B with the V, the C with the U and so on. Writing the code on paper in full will give you the opportunity to view and consult it at any time.
Start memorizing the coding system. This will save you time when you need to use it in the future. As always, practice makes perfect, so the more you use it, the more comfortable you will feel in writing with the "new" alphabet
Step 3. Compose your message using the new alphabet
Use the code you created in the previous step as a guide to proceed with drafting the message. As always, start by writing the text in Italian, as you normally would, then use your new alphabet to rewrite it encoded. For example the word "Hello" will become "Uozi".
If you need to decode the message you created, use the second line of your code (the one relating to the alphabet written in reverse), then proceed to replace each letter with the corresponding one of the Italian alphabet
Step 4. Learn the semi-inverted alphabet method
This is an encoding mechanism very similar to the previous one, but it will save you time both in the encoding and decoding phase. Writing the new coded alphabet will also be faster. Start by writing the letters from A to M on a single line, then continue writing the remaining letters, from N to Z, aligning them under the previous ones.
To encode the text of the message, all you have to do is use this new alphabet, in which the letter A will become the letter N and the N will transform into A. It is a double correlation alphabet; some people find it easier and faster to use than the full one
Method 3 of 4: Replace Letters with Symbols
Step 1. Correlate each letter with its numeral position
It is a very intuitive coding system, which offers a quick and easy way to associate letters of the alphabet with symbols. Start by writing the entire Italian alphabet in its natural order. When finished, rewrite it by replacing each letter with the number corresponding to its position in the alphabet. This way you will get the following associations: A = 1, B = 2, C = 3 and so on.
Given the simplicity of this coding system, identifying the key will be just as simple. To make it a little more robust, you can try reversing the order of the numbers (A = 21, B = 20, C = 19, etc.). Alternatively, you can number the first half of the letters with the correct positional order and the second half with the reverse order, resulting in N = 21, O = 20, and so on
Step 2. Use Morse code
Most people are convinced that Morse code simply consists of a series of sounds or light signals, ignoring its association with writing. However, there is also a Morse alphabet, which provides a coding system for each letter. Morse code is named after its inventor Samuel Morse and was used extensively in the 1830s to quickly send text messages via telegraph. Each letter is encoded as a series of dots and lines. Proceed by creating numerous correlations between letters and symbols, then use them to encrypt your messages.
People with more experience in the field will also be able to make use of the Morse code symbols related to the encoding of all forms of punctuation. Try to spice up your messages by writing complete sentences that include punctuation characters, commas, points and exclamation points, obviously appropriately coded using Morse code
Step 3. Learn to use hieroglyphs
This type of writing was invented by the ancient Egyptians, combining traditional alphabetic symbols with graphic symbols. The difficulty of learning this type of writing is given by the fact that the graphic symbols also encode the sound related to the pronunciation of the different letters. For example of the letter A you will have to memorize both symbols relating to the long and short vowel sound, using the correct one in relation to what you want to write.
Write an encryption key that includes not only the letters of the Italian alphabet, but also the sounds related to the pronunciation of the related hieroglyphic symbols. You will find that the letters in common often have the same basic graphic design, with the addition of small changes related to the single pronunciation or in combination with other letters
Step 4. Invent your own custom code
While it is possible to use one of the coding systems described in this article or one of the many others in the world, it can be a lot of fun trying to create your own. Gather a group of friends to try to assign a symbol to each letter of the alphabet. The goal is to identify simple and mnemonic symbols, in order to facilitate the use of the code and to be able to master it quickly. In order to use this method, it will be very important to always have your "rosetta stone" at hand, so as not to forget how your coding system works.
Method 4 of 4: Use Advanced Coding Systems
Step 1. Alter your language using an indexed cipher
This system, known as "monoalphabetic cipher" in cryptography, involves the use of a permutation of the traditional alphabet, that is, it urges to translate the order of each letter in one direction, so that each element takes on the symbol of the next one or previous, based on the number of permuted positions (this number represents the "key" of the cipher). The simplest way to put this system into practice is to translate the entire alphabet to the left by one position. This means that the letter A will be represented by B, the latter by C and so on, up to the Z which will correspond to A.
- In our example we have translated the letters of the alphabet by a single position, but there is no limit to that number. This will make your code very complex, while the one in our example is pretty easy to crack.
- It is also possible to translate the alphabet to the right. This technique, however, requires a little more careful planning, since you will have to work on the final part of the alphabet moving towards the Z and then up to the A.
- This system actually has very ancient foundations, it is in fact known as "Caesar's Code" or "Scrolling Code". This type of encoding is also known as "ROT1" (from English "rotate by 1 place"). If you wish, you can apply an encryption key of your choice. For example, "ROT2" uses a two-position permutation of the alphabet.
Step 2. Use a block encryption method
Start writing your message as normal, line by line, with the goal of creating a single, uniform block of text. In this phase of drafting the message, a little order and precision are needed, since the aim is to obtain a text composed of lines of the closest possible length (obviously, perfect precision is not required). After composing the message, you should be able to notice that columns have formed consisting of the individual words of each row (if you have been precise in writing the message text, each column should be composed of words of similar length). At this point, scroll down the contents of each column of words.
When you have to decode this type of messages, rewrite the keywords in the column respecting the original order. This way you should be able to perfectly read and understand the content of each line
Step 3. Learn to master the "pigpen cipher"
It is a cipher which is also often referred to as the "Mason cipher" and is one of the most advanced encryption systems for encrypting your messages. Make sure you create your cipher in a clear and orderly manner, as you will need to use it both to encode your messages and in the decryption phase. Start by drawing two main grids. One is identical to the one normally used to play "three of a kind", while the second is represented by a large "X". Now you have to fill in the 13 boxes of the two grids (9 in the first and 4 in the second) with two letters each.
