Constructing Crosswords: Approach

Focus

My introductory CROSSWORDS and YOU course focused on solving crosswords,
via lecture and group practice; it also highlighted history, showed where to find puzzles,
and briefly & broadly covered authoring (constructing).
This course focuses on constructing crosswords
-- appreciating nuances of themes, grids, fill and clues may help you become a better solver.
Wanting to construct your own puzzles is not a pre-requisite.
What other differences in coverage or approach?

There many possible word puzzle sizes, layouts, languages:
CROSSWORDS and YOU: Terminology & Types.
The focus in this course: American, themed daily crosswords, e.g., NYT Mon-Thu.
American newspaper-style, fully-crossed*, symmetric grids [on right]:
e.g., New York Times (NYT) Los Angeles Times (LAT),
Universal (Mail Tribune), Wall Street Journal (WSJ), etc.
-- not vocabulary-style, free-form, criss-cross word puzzles [top right],
or British-style cryptics [below right];
*aka 'fully-checked': each answer square has both an Across and Down clue, i.e., no 1-letter words (usually)
themed: e.g., NYT:Mon-Thu, Sun
-- not NYT:Fri-Sat (themeless; hardest! What Makes a Good Themeless Puzzle?)
15 x 15 size: e.g., NYT:Mon-Sat -- not NYT:mini 5 x 5 [on right] or NYT:Sun 21 x 21
British-style grid by MeekMark,
public domain
via Wikimedia Commons

Note: NYT Sun 21 x 21 ranks in difficulty like ~Wed/Thu NYT
-- though solving takes longer (~2x more squares: 441 vs. 225);
constructing larger grids is more challenging: more theme entries, even higher quality fill & clues, etc.
"A 78-word 15x15 typically has an average word length of ~4.8-5.0 letters?
A 72-word 15x15 themeless is probably around 5.5-5.6 letters
and a 140-word 21x21 themed is often like 5.3" ~Evan Birnholz on Crosscord(Discord)

In the past, typically old white guys. ;-)
Now (increasingly), anyone with great ideas, new perspective -- and the right skills/tools.
Will Shortz: "In the 90s, my sense is that the average age of constructors
[who submitted puzzles] was in the early 50s. Now it’s in the mid-30s."
What's come of this trend is a positive feedback loop of young constructors
attracting young solvers who in turn become young constructors.
The catalysts for this are many: the ease of access to puzzles online;
software that makes puzzle construction more fun and less daunting;
an increase in social networking and collaboration among both setters
and solvers (as on XWordInfo.com and Cruciverb.com);
Deb Amlen’s Wordplay column, whose goal is to "help those intimidated
by the NYT crossword get over their fear of the puzzle."
even the rise of diverse, indie crossword communities all over the country
focused on those historically underrepresented in puzzledom
-- the LGBTQ+ community, female constructors, and people of color.
source: Smithsonian: How Crosswords Came of Age in the 2010s

When creating free-form or crossword puzzles for yourself or friends,
you can choose any words, grid size, layout, clues, etc.
The focus in this course: follow the 'rules' that solvers & publishers expect, e.g., symmetry, word choice, ...:
Publisher Specs/Submission Guidelines: NYT, LAT, Univ., WSJ, etc.
Cruciverb.com: basic rules
NYT: How to Make a Crossword Puzzle: The Series: Parts 1-5
Wikipedia: NYT: Style and conventions
XWordInfo.com
Margaret Farrar: Contributions and Accomplishments
"Learn the rules...
Rules can sometimes be broken -- there's more latitude with an exceptional puzzle and a great justification.
Following the rules doesn't guarantee a good crossword, e.g., The World's Worst Crossword
We'll cover many of these conventions in upcoming sections: Themes; Grid; Fill; Clues; Publish

CROSSWORDS and YOU: Authoring surveyed methods used by constructors:
paper: e.g., WordPlay documentary
web sites/apps: e.g., Armored Penguin (free-form only); Crosserville, Crosshare, PuzzleMe
applications: e.g., CrossFire, Crossword Compiler
The focus in this course: CrossFire application, with add-on dictionaries
to construct 15 x 15 themed crosswords, with in-depth examples.
next sections: Overview of Process; Tools; Formats