Interview with Scott Atkinson

Scott Atkinson made his crossword debut in July 2008. Since then, he has had six more puzzles published by the LA Times.

Mr. Atkinson also had two puzzles published by the NY Times, including the very creative "Time after Time". This work preceded Pancho Harrison's "Time after Time", which many of us enjoyed. His puzzles also appeared in the much revered NY Sun.

What is the inspiration for this puzzle?

For me, theme inspiration is often provided by a phrase that sounds snappy to me. In this case, NAILBITER just seemed like a fun and descriptive term. So then you see what about that phrase might help you build a theme. In this case the double meaning for "nail" provides the opportunity for a wordplay theme. What are other pointy metal fasteners that can be used as the first part of phrases that have nothing to do with their meanings as fasteners? The other theme answers fit the bill.

And what are the challenges in putting this grid together?

There has to be lively fill, since the theme answers are not that long and the theme is not very complicated. I hope the fill here meets that challenge.

What is your background and how did you get into crossword constructing?

I have enjoyed crosswords for 30 years. When I learned that some editors, like Rich Norris. will accept submissions from newbies, I decided to give it a whirl. I have some friends who test-solved for a while until I learned what worked. Mentor extraordinaire Nancy Salomon really taught me how to develop a good wordplay theme and co-wrote my first one to help me get my foot in the door.

What is a great puzzle to you? And what kind of theme/fill wow you?

I love the low word count puzzles with wide open white spaces. A puzzle like that is fun to solve, whether it has a theme or not. And you know that the constructor put a lot of effort into it. But I love them all, really. Basically any puzzle without Roman numeral arithmetic problems makes me happy.

I noticed you were first published by LAT only in July 2008. Have you experienced Writer's Block in terms of theme ideas? If so, how do you deal with this spell of lack of inspiration?

When I first started making puzzles, theme ideas just came pouring out on a daily basis. Now I have to wait for random inspiration. This comes less frequently, but since it's not my day job I don't worry much in a dry spell. To deal with it, I'll mess around making some themeless puzzles.

How does being a constructor affect the way you solve and enjoy a puzzle now?

It definitely gives you appreciation for how hard it is to make a great puzzle, and how rare and wonderful it is to have one of your works accepted by one of the high-quality editors in the biz.

What kind of puzzles do you tackle every day and who are your favorite constructors?

I always do the LA Times, of course. It's the one carried in my local paper. New York Times as well. My favorite constructors are Patrick Berry, Nancy Salomon, Liz Gorski, Paula Gamache, Rich Norris (of course), Mike Shenk, Bob Klahn, and Kevin Der, whose themeless grids are just amazing.

Besides crosswords, what else do you do for fun?

I am an enthusiastic family guy and love to hang out with my wife, kids, and dogs. Also, endurance sports are fun for me. My biggest achievement (prior to having a puzzle accepted by Rich Norris, that is) was tackling and finishing the Hawaii Ironman triathlon in 2005. And I'm looking forward to finally getting certified in scuba next month.