Over the years I’ve gotten more conscientious about avoiding possibly offensive entries. What entry or entries would you never put in a puzzle, and why? As much as possible, I want my puzzles to remain evergreen.ĩ.
#Wsj crossword editor tv#
Adding every new celebrity’s name or TV show title as soon as it appears doesn’t appeal to me, because those entries may not stand the test of time. I tend to go on occasional binges where I add large numbers of entries to my database, rather than adding them in dribs and drabs. How many hours a week, on average, do you spend on refining your tools, like your word list? You can’t autofill such grids, but that’s not a feature I care for much anyway.Ĩ. Any variety form I create whose structure is based on squares can be set up in CC. Granted, the list you get is only as good as your word database, but mine’s pretty good by now.ĬC also has great adaptability. It’s the fastest wild-card search in the business. I use Crossword Compiler It has many features I like, but my favorite is the ability to right-click a slot and see all the possible fills.
#Wsj crossword editor software#
Do you use a computer software constructing program and, if so, which one? What do you like about it? Seriously, why do you do this to yourself? (You can barely make a living on puzzles alone.)Ħ. That’s when I became a freelance puzzler - a very dubious career choice - and finally started selling crosswords, because you can’t make a living on variety puzzles alone. Puzzles were just a side-business of mine until late 1997, but then the publishing house I worked for went belly-up. I still use a few of those early creations - notably Rows Garden, which I invented in 1995. I was impressed with the variety puzzles in Games magazine, particularly Mike Shenk’s stuff, and I wanted to try creating my own forms. What made you decide to try your hand at making a crossword puzzle?Īs noted, my first puzzle wasn’t a crossword. That experience was obviously formative, as I spent the first seven years of my puzzle career making only variety puzzles.ĥ. Obscure entries made the crosswords frustrating for me, so I mostly stuck to variety puzzles. I solved puzzles in Dell magazines as a kid. How did you get into puzzling? What is your first memory of solving? When was your first New York Times crossword published?Ĥ. It was a variety puzzle called “On the Right Track,” appropriately enough.ģ. Where and when was your first puzzle published? Our inaugural spotlight is on the very prolific and innovative constructor Patrick Berry, whose “ Constructor’s Handbook” (formerly known as “Crossword Puzzle Challenges for Dummies”) is an indispensable tool for learning the art of crossword puzzle making.Ģ. Welcome to a new Wordplay feature where we will meet these constructors. You will find constructors who focus on wordplay, constructors who excel at including the edgiest entries and constructors who thrill us with innovative grid design and other forms of visual derring-do. From the constructor who conceives of and builds your puzzle, to the editors who pore over every clue and entry to make them sparkle, this pastime of ours is far from computer-generated, and it is an artform that has almost as many genres and styles as music. Rest assured, there will never be any substitute for the human touch in puzzles. Some people still believe that crosswords are made solely by computers, and while most constructors have some software-based help these days, nothing could be farther from the truth.
SPECIAL POST - There are many solvers who sit down to do a crossword puzzle (or, as I’ve said, maybe you stand who am I to judge?) without even a thought as to the puzzle maker behind the grid.