Constructing Crosswords: Approach

Focus | Grid Size & Format | Constructors? |
Rules, Conventions | Apps, Dictionaries, Tools | References

xwFocus

  • 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?
American grid
American-style grid by Michael J.
via Wikimedia Commons
Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported

Grid Size & Format

  • 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)
  • minithemed: 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 grid
    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)

Who Can Be A Constructor?

  • 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
  • "Of the 28 puzzles I’ve had published in The New York Times, 21 of them have been collaborations.
    I've shared a Times byline with 15 different constructors. While I do enjoy working on puzzles on my own,
    there's something special about the collaborative process. It makes the puzzle more memorable,
    and it inspires me to put out my best work. While I might end up setting aside a puzzle
    I’m working on alone, a collaborator keeps me motivated to take a puzzle across the finish line.

    Each person I’ve worked with has taught me something new, whether they are more or less experienced than I am.
    In my first collaboration with Matthew, which was published in the Crosswords Club, Matthew showed me how to make a
    shared Google spreadsheet for writing clues in a more collaborative way. I’ve used this format for every puzzle since!

    Collaborators have made me question the vocabulary I use in a grid, or what is considered too 'crosswordy.'
    They've made me more comfortable with ripping up an entire grid and writing multiple clues to choose from
    for a single entry. Two heads are better than one when it comes to coming up with funny theme entries.
    If you're interested in crossword construction, I’d highly recommend teaming up with someone
    more experienced than yourself; you will definitely learn something — and they probably will, too."
    ~Christina Iverson, Easy Mode newsletter, 4/26/2024

Rules / Conventions

Apps / Dictionaries / Tools

cch berry
from: aframegames.com

References