cruciverbalism

[topaz]

How do people learn how to construct crossword puzzles?

Comments

[sconstant.livejournal.com]

I thought there were a few scenes in Wordplay that gave some hints. I've done some lame ones as presents, ignoring some of the symmetry and other rules. I think, generally, to do a non-lame one, you decide on the theme and figure out the big clues and how they'll sit. This kind of determines the size of the puzzle. This kind of forces some decisions, which force others, etc., and then all of a sudden, you're left with the decision as to whether to use "YOGI" and "EIRE" and "ELB" and how to clue those, or whether to backtrack and figure out a different placement for black squares or better words crossing those spots.