Constructing: Fill: Example: OLLI
Example | Ready to Clue?
Example
- At end of Grid section: theme entries were placed, [right: CF#03]
with a successful (though not great) "quick fill" [far right].
("CF#"on Figures refers to file versions we could revert to)
- Restart. After selective filling progresses,
later options generally become more limited,
-- and perhaps unsatisfactory, or even impossible.
- After unsatisfactory fill, restart.
Swap positions of REBELLIONS and ARMADILLOS [below right: CF#04]
- The pink 'N' (=required) indicates limited fill choices
-- a potential problem?
- RHINO fits. Add more fill -- so far, so good [far right: CF#05]
- Add circles for theme letter sequences (could be added anytime) [right: CF#06]
- Coincidentally, OIL LEASES and HOI POLLOI have symmetric circled letters.
- Finding other symmetric theme entries would have been difficult!
- More... -- all filled in! [far right: CF#07]
- Check if any entries are undesirable, or too difficult to define / clue.
- It's sometimes possible to rework subareas of the puzzle without starting over.
- Erase & re-fill upper left corner to eliminate SOH, IAL
[right: CF#08]
- Rework middle left area to eliminate PALAK
[far right: CF#09]
- Though not too much crosswordese, a few unusual/
foreign words remain: AIRDAM, ADELLE, ORL, AMOI, SEL, etc.
- -- and partial phrases: ASNEW, ITART, IDBE. SEL and SELAS -- acceptable overlap?
Ready to Clue?
- Remember? "My biggest piece of advice for a puzzlemaker is never
put an obscure word in the grid just because it's the only thing that will work.
Re-do the puzzle instead, even if it means going back to the beginning
and putting the theme entries in different positions." ~Trip Payne
- Is this grid & fill good enough for now, at least as an example -- start writing Clues?
- In retrospect, ambitiously keeping all 6 theme answers has led generally
to some less than exciting fill, and/or difficult grids,
e.g., too many black squares or theme entries not flush-to-edge, etc.
- Depending on class time and student preference, we could
-- with updated dictionaries and different collective brainpower:
- keep same theme entries (15,15,10,10,9,9) and grid
(maybe swap some theme entry locations); fill
- keep 6 theme entries, but choose / design a different grid; fill
- keep 2 longest (15,15) theme entries, add new odd-length center entry
(non-evens too short?); new grid; fill
- keep 4 longest (15,15,10,10) theme entries; new grid; fill
- ...