google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Interview

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Showing posts with label Interview. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Interview. Show all posts

Nov 15, 2015

Interview with Bruce Haight

Those who solve New York Times puzzles regularly and are familiar with Bruce Haight's byline won't be surprised with our bendy puzzle today. Bruce is fond of visual art and noted for his boundary-pushing style.

Bruce also makes super smooth Monday/Tuesday puzzles with heavy themage, as shown in this puzzle we just had earlier this month.

Today is our ninth LAT grid from Bruce. He has had 15 puzzles published by the New York Times since 2013.



I'm astonished that all the theme entries are placed in symmetrical spots. This does not happen often with turning gimmicks. Did you start out this way or did you decide to tighten up your approach in the grid-designing process? 
 
Hi CC !  Actually, I started right off setting up the grid with symmetrical theme entries, but then it was pretty difficult to find entries with the right lengths. I was able to play around with the blocks to make it work.  My initial submission had GOES ON A BENDER as a theme entry,  but Rich nixed that because it wasn't specific enough about what kind of turning was going on.  I thought I would never find an entry to replace that, but then COMING OUT AHEAD popped into my head- the entry turns out and ahead- perfect!

Which section gave you the most trouble in the filling process? Judging by the five Q's, I imagine you had fun in the middle.

Those Q's popped up mostly on their own, probably partly because of the position of that U in TURN A PHRASE- I do remember feeling like Quistmas came early when those appeared!  The area right next to THE FALLS was by far the toughest for me.  The puzzle that Rich accepted had TLINGIT at 49-Down, which Rich could not have been too happy about, but on my own I went back and moved blocks to get rid of that.  I noticed in one of your blogs recently you said something about being glad the LA Times allows 144 words in a Sunday puzzle- I never knew that, and I had a devil of a time getting down to 140 on this one. By the way, CC, do you think you could pull some strings and get them to show water coming out of the "S"  in FALLS for the online solution? And maybe a barrel going down OVER THE FALLS, over and over?  Thanks!   :)

Tell us a bit about yourself. What's your background? And how did you get into crossword construction?

I'm an ophthalmologist in the San Diego area, originally from Wisconsin, and never had much interest in crosswords till 2012 (age 58).  I got a crossword app for my iPad and got hooked. I sent my childhood friend Pete Collins (well-known in the crossword community) an idea for a crossword  theme and he offered to co-construct it with me.  It got rejected, like all of my first 50 puzzles, but eventually I improved.  My Mom loves crosswords, so I got some inspiration from her. I just had my first grandchild, so  I'm  trying to work KEIRA into a puzzle.....

What kind of theme & fill fascinate you and what kind do you try to avoid in your grids?

I love grid art, and I'm fascinated by what I call "constraint" construction - crosswords with low block counts, low number of letters used, one vowel only, 100+ theme letter count, quadruple pangram, etc.  I tend to shy away from intellectual themes - I'm not at all knowledgeable about art, history, geography, etc - that's one reason  I'm a lousy crossword solver.

Which part do you enjoy the most in the construction process: theme development, filling or cluing?

I consider myself mostly a technician, so I like the grid layout and the fill process. I'm always looking for new grid art ideas, but they are tough to come up with and difficult to construct.  I struggle with theme development.   

What kind of reference tools do you use for crossword construction & cluing?

I use xwordinfo, Crossword Tracker, One Look dictionary search, Cruciverb, and Google

Besides crosswords, what else do you do for fun?

In the past I've been big into golf, tennis, bridge,  and backgammon tournaments.  However, since I got into crosswords my other hobbies have suffered. I enjoy playing guitar and piano.  My wife and I love to travel to Europe, and we love movies.  We watch only two TV shows- Downton Abbey and The Voice. 

If you could give one piece of advice to fellow constructors what would it be?

I see constructors complain all the time that too many of their favorite clues were not used.  My suggestion for this problem is to submit two or three clue options for the entries you are really excited about. Rich Norris sent me an Email one time telling me he likes my strategy on that  - he said just put a slash/ mark between the clue options and try to pick options that vary in difficulty.  This improved my clue "success" rate from 50% to 75%, which adds a lot to my enjoyment of puzzle construction.

How have crosswords changed your life?

Well for one thing, they saved my life.  When I got obsessed with crosswords in 2012  I ate less and slept less and lost ten pounds.  My wife thought I had cancer so she made me get a CT scan.  Sure enough, I had an awful type of kidney cancer that is nearly 100% fatal once it gets big, and usually has no symptoms till it's too late.  However, mine was tiny and easily removed, with no sign of it three years later.   The doctors said it was way too small to cause weight loss, so I thank the crossword community (and my wife Liz) for saving my life!

Apr 10, 2015

Interview with Peg Slay

Peg Slay is our own C6D6 Peg, who has been quietly posting on this blog since May, 2014.

Today's DROPPER is Peg's third puzzle for the LA Times. Her first puzzle was published on May 30, 2013. Click here, you'll see that she loves wordplay and all her puzzles have a distinctive style.

Steve (Peg's husband) & Peg
 
I loved the reveal! How did this theme come to you and what were the other theme answers you also considered but discarded? 

I like to either add or drop something in a phrase to make a fun theme answer.  When DROPPER came to mind, the first theme answer was ONECENTMILK.  I use an on-line dictionary to find other answers that start or end with PER to come up with the others.  I originally had HERMESFUMES (Son of Zeus loses his cool) and BUMMAGNET (One who attracts loafers), but Rich didn’t think enough people were familiar with Hermes Perfumes or Bumper Magnets.  I really wanted two entries to drop the PER at the beginning and two at the end, but finally settled with JALAPENOPOP, which was Rich’s favorite.

I imagined you tried DROPPER at the very right edge intersecting JALAPENO POP or the central 8th row, then you settled down at the current 39-Down spot. Or did you have this current theme entry arrangement from the very start?  

Yes, I had wanted DROPPER at the very right edge, but when trying to complete the fill, had to rearrange the theme answers and grid so I didn’t have fill that started and ended with vowels or unusual consonants. 
 
What problems did you encounter in the filling process? 

It’s really hard for me to come up with 3-letter fill that’s interesting and not the usual crosswordese.  This fill was pretty easy, the hardest being 15D (Starts with an S and ends with an I). 
 

Tell us a bit about yourself. What's your background? And how did you get into crossword construction?

I’ve been retired 4 years after 35 years in the business field.  Originally, I’m from Milwaukee, but now live south of Houston.  I’ve been solving crossword puzzles for as long as I can remember.  My husband and I have been doing the LA Times for over 13 years.  After retirement, I was looking for a hobby to fill some time, and my husband suggested I create a crossword from an old program we had.  The first couple of puzzles were mostly done by hand.  I really like Crossword Compiler, and try to use as much of the help it will give.  

What kind of theme & fill fascinate you and what kind do you try to avoid in your grids?   

I love the play on words theme most, although I really enjoy Saturday’s themeless.  I like a puzzle that will really make me think.  I really try to avoid the crosswordese fill and look for some new words for solvers to learn. 
 
Which part do you enjoy the most in the construction process: theme development, filling or cluing?  

Best part of the process is coming up with the theme development and then the fill.  I think it gives the solver some clue into your personality and mindset.  However, it takes me a long time to come up with a theme that I feel is clever enough, or one that I can develop into at least 4-5 theme answers. 
 
What kind of reference tools do you use for crossword construction & cluing?   

As I said, Crossword Compiler is great, but I also use a lot of on-line dictionaries, Word Search (More Words), Google and other sites.  I also have two books on Phrases and Idioms that I use occasionally. 
 
Besides crosswords, what else do you do for fun? 

My husband and I do a lot of volunteer work.  We love watching movies.  I also play handbells (thus the name C6D6Peg).  We like to go camping in spring and fall and love the time away.


Feb 22, 2015

Interview with Alex Vratsanos

This is our first encounter with constructor Alex Vratsanos, who has had 10 puzzles published by the New York Times alone. Alex hit for the cycle (his puzzles appeared in every day of the week) with his 8th puzzle last June. That's a record!

Alex was also published by the Chronicle of Higher Education (a collaboration with George Barany),  and in Twenty Under Thirty, and he has several additional puzzles that have been accepted by the LAT.

XWord Info Picture

How did this theme come to you and what were the other theme answers you also considered but discarded?
 
This concept of using a decade to indicate a letter count came to me in early summer 2014, though in the form of the '80s. Finding nothing usable with eight E's, I ran through the remaining possibilities and found that '60s was the only one that had a chance of working. I guess I got very lucky to find six theme entries that were the right lengths and could intersect.
  
I don't think I could make a 6-themer work for a 21*21. I would not be so imaginative & daring to start the first theme entry at Row 6 and stack two pairs the way you did. Can you tell us a bit about your grid designing process? What were the trouble spots during the filling?

With the six theme entries in place, I started the fill at those words that crossed three of them. After finding ones that worked, I turned to the areas between TAKIN' IT TO THE STREETS and the other Across theme entries, leaving the areas at the top and bottom of the grid for last. I am very pleased with the changes Rich made, the biggest one being shortening the title (from "Puzzle of the '60s") and in adding the asterisk to it and the theme clues. I also must thank my friend Ned White for the support he gave to this puzzle during its development.

What's your background? And how did you get into crossword construction?

I constructed my first crossword in August 2006, while still in middle school. Over the next few years, I learned the language and rules of crosswords and submitted my first one in February 2009, but it wasn't until June 2011 that I received my first acceptance and publication. I have since had about 20 puzzles accepted by the major outlets, but this is my LA Times debut. Outside of Crossworld, I am currently completing an A.A. in Business Administration at Lehigh Carbon Community College, and plan to begin pursuing a B.S. in Accounting at Kutztown University this fall.

What kind of theme & fill fascinate you and what kind do you try to avoid in your grids?

Being a Scrabble fan, I try to include entries with the less common letters where I can. On the other hand, I try very hard to avoid partials and dupes of short words like IN and ON.

Which part do you enjoy the most in the construction process: theme development, filling or cluing?

Of those three, filling is my favorite and cluing is my least favorite.

What kind of reference tools do you use for crossword construction & cluing?

I use Crossword Compiler for constructing, and I take advantage of all the online and print resources that most constructors use. Once I have a puzzle pretty far along, I run it by George Barany and his team, and they in turn make incisive suggestions on how to improve it.

Besides crosswords, what are your other hobbies?

My other hobbies include chess, a variety of sports and other games, and staying up to date on the stock market. I guess that may not sound like much, but my academic studies and job at Walmart #2145 take up a lot of my time. I am very glad to have had time to answer these questions, though. :-)

Jan 31, 2015

Interview with Ned White

Today's themeless is Ned White's 6th puzzle for the LA Times. Ned also has had 11 puzzles published by the New York Times, 10 of them are hard Friday/Saturday themeless. And he made all of them by hand! I don't think I can even keep the clue numbers correct without help from my software.

We don't often get a mini-theme on Saturdays, I hope you enjoy how Ned put this puzzle together. I  also love very much how he values his solvers and his advice to new constructors.

Ned White, Bangor Daily News

I was surprised to learn last August that you did not use Crossword Compiler. I presume this puzzle was made by hand also?

Yes, it was. But I've recently stopped tormenting myself and now use Crossfire, which works nicely on a Mac. Most of my published puzzles have been by hand, but the trauma and bloodshed just aren't worth it anymore.

What are the seed entries of this puzzle and what trouble did you encounter while filling in the grid?

I was looking for two crossing spanners that resonated with/played off each other for the "seed answers", and I loved both CLICK IT OR TICKET and USE INDOOR VOICES, since they're both warnings and one's used on the highway and the other, often, in a hallway, and they both have a subtle sense of fun about them. I also wanted THE RULES at 62 Across to help anchor the puzzle with what they call a "mini-theme." The challenge was 1 Across, 8 letters ending in C. Also, MALIK at 44 Across... One Direction is still a popular group, but this was clearly one of those "you probably don't know it, but here it is anyway" kind of answers. TETE A TETE gives easy letters to cross through, so I'm not so thrilled with it, but I thought it was cool getting all of EDIE FALCO in the grid. It's all give and take.

Can you tell us a bit about your background? How did you get into crossword construction?

My background and training is in creative writing, and my career has been in novels, scriptwriting (TV and corporate, drama and documentary), and occasionally creative direction. Writing has its good and lean years, so after watching the movie "Wordplay" during a lean-ish year, I said, "I can do this." Followed by, "I think I want to do this." Well, several months later, I had my first acceptance, but it took me a few weeks to get that puzzle just right. When it was published three years later as a Saturday, "Rex Parker" was appalled by how hard it was. I had to agree. But I could also have told him, "Forget about how hard it is to solve, you have no idea how hard it was to make." It was a monster.

I should add, my first published puzzle (in the NYT) used the same grid as today's LAT puzzle. I debuted at the age of 63, I think, and that's quite a bit later than most, but I felt ready for anything, anytime. Age is not an issue. Bernice Gordon gave us great stuff into her triple figures (I just learned of her passing today... the tributes to her are inspiring and moving). So yes, I got a late start, but I'm actually kind of proud of it, and I intend to keep at it for quite a long time.

Which part do you enjoy the most in the construction process: theme development, filling or cluing?
 
Others have said, and I agree, themeless puzzles are easier to construct than themed puzzles, but harder to have accepted because the bar has been raised so high in the last year or two. Most of my puzzles are themeless, but I'm having a lot of fun with theme ideas that involve simple wordplay and puns. But different editors have different senses of humor, so you never know.

Cluing is always difficult for me. It takes me a solid 8 hours to clue a 15X. For fill words in a themed puzzle, I attempt misdirective or punny "question mark" clues for varying percentages of the answers, depending on which weekday the puzzle is best suited to. ETE for a Monday is probably "Summer on the Seine" and for a Friday "Nice time for a tan?", but there's just so much you can do with crosswordese like that. Otherwise, I strive to avoid cluing that's been used before, but I'm not always successful. Editors like Will and Rich and more recently Patti Varol always seem to be more creative than I, and I'll see one of their clues and ask, "Why didn't I think of that?" Trying to outguess them (to be more devious and clever) is nearly impossible for me. I had SCOTS in an NYT themeless, and Will kept my "Firth class?" clue. I had NAE in the same puzzle with "Firth refusal?", but that one didn't make the cut.

You've made both themed and themeless puzzles. What are the major differences in your approach to fill?

Themed puzzle fill, at worst, can be workmanlike, but now we see more and more really sparkling "crunchy" longish stuff crossing through 2 or 3 themed answers. Themeless puzzle fill has to keep reaching for the new, fresh, original, and surprising, and keep 3- and 4- letter fill words to a minimum. Some constructors will do anything for a pangram, or for a super high Scrabble count, but to me that's secondary to entertainment value and some fun in the grid. If I could give one piece of advice to new constructors (and I still consider myself fairly new at this, with barely two dozen puzzles in print), it would be "don't aim for the fences; give the solver a good time." I think we're seeing an excess of virtuosity in construction - quad stacks, very few blocks, etc. - and it's impressive but it doesn't necessarily make for a good solve with spanners that don't have much interest or bite (it can also force some very ugly downcrossing fill). I used to aim for a certain level of virtuosity, but no more. I want people to laugh, or at least smile, when they do my puzzles.

Besides crosswords, what are your other hobbies?

Carla and I live on a backwater cove on the coast of Maine in a house we built about 3 years ago, so one "hobby" is working on the property. Otherwise, I do some photography, play some guitar and piano, and there's lots of veggie gardening in the summer and attempts at mackerel jigging. I also blog weekly with the Bangor Daily News (Journeys Over a Hot Stove) about our road trips and different residences all over the U.S. mixed with regional recipes and food and topics that are completely unrelated. Usually, the posts are "humorous," or try to be, but sometimes they're quite serious. I've driven through 49 states, and I think the blog, on the whole, shows a deep affection for the diversity of landscape in this country, the people who live there, and the different sense of "soul" I've sensed in different regions. A few of my posts are "love letters" to a tiny town or a particular corner of a state or some stranger who made a lasting impression.

Aug 30, 2014

Interview with Martin Ashwood-Smith

Like many constructors, I check Cruciverb religiously to avoid theme dupe. Often I find out that the clever idea I thought I had was done by Martin Ashwood-Smith many years ago for the CrosSynergy. 

Martin is a very prolific constructor. As you can read from George Barany's Friends bio, Martin has over 550 puzzles published by the CrosSynergy alone. He also had 76 puzzles published by the New York Times. Of those 400 + Games magazines, half a dozen are 25x25 Ornerys.

Martin is known as a master of triple & quad stacks (three or four grid-spanning 15-letter entries are stacked together). In fact, he constructed and published more of both types of puzzle than any other constructor. He's had about 15 quad stack puzzles published in the NYT, which he thinks (to date) has the biggest collection of this type of puzzle. 

Martin was also the first to have have a quad stack puzzle in the LAT in 2012. David Steinberg was the second , and today's is our number three quad stack. One of Martin's  puzzle books consists entirely of stacked-style puzzles... titled unsurprisingly: "Triple-Stack Crosswords". 

I have no experience making quad-stacks, or triple stacks or even double stacks. They scare me. I imagine every quad-stack has a seed entry also, like today's WILD GOOSE CHASES? Were there any other entries you seeded in the triple 10's on top & bottom?

In this case, the seed entry was the bottom quad-stack entry, PEER ASSESSMENTS. Quad stacks are very difficult to construct, so you generally have to proceed from the 15-letter word that you think will give you be best chances of finding others that work with it. 

Can you tell us how a typical quad-stack puzzle is made and what challenges you face when filling in this type of grid?

I always try to assemble/construct the stacks first. This means that I usually have no idea what the eventual grid will look like. It's not uncommon for me to try and assemble dozens of "close-but-no-cigar" quad stack sets, before finally finding something that looks promising. Even then, there's no guarantee that a reasonable grid can be constructed around the set of quads. For example, in today's puzzle, I had no idea that the final version would have sets of stacked 10-letter-words in the top right and bottom left areas... but I'm glad it did!

I went though about 5 or 6 different grid variants before I came up with the final grid. I think the original had AAMES (the actor), but that made the grid far too closed off. A few days later, AA MEETINGS suddenly popped into my head, and the whole puzzle looked much more doable. Funny how that happens... that's one of the reasons I love constructing crosswords. 

You've made lots of themed & themeless puzzles for various newspapers & magazines. What are the major differences in your approach to fill?

Pretty much the same, although I try and keep any hard words out of my themed CrosSynergy/Washington Post puzzles, since the majority of them are intended to be at about a Tuesday level of difficulty on the New York Times scale. 

For themed puzzles, which part do you enjoy the most in the construction process: theme development, filling or cluing?

I've always enjoyed the construction most, since I always try to come up with an original grid to accommodate the sets of theme clues.

What kind of theme/fill appeal to you and what kind do you try to avoid in your grids?

I avoid repeated word themes for sure, but they're pretty much verboten in most puzzle markets today anyway. I know I'm in the minority here, but I always enjoy making quote/quip themed puzzles, especially if the quip is fresh and amusing.

I read from this article in The Globe & Mail that you're a taxi driver. Do you mentally count letters when hearing interesting phrases from customers?

Actually, no (at least not often). My crossword life rarely intersects with my cab driving life. However, I do find my job very useful when it comes to hearing the latest usage and "in" words from teenagers. And occasionally, I will see or think of something that will give me some puzzle ideas. But on the whole cab driving is useful to me because it gets me out of the house, away from the computer monitor, and away from crosswords in general!

Besides crosswords, what are your other hobbies?

When I get the time I enjoy weightlifting, classical and electronic music. I'm also a bit of a train enthusiast.

Jul 24, 2014

Interview with Jeffrey Wechsler

Jeffrey Wechsler calls himself a "cruciverbal Rip Van Winkle". He had three puzzles published by the New York Times in the 1960s, then he took a 40-year break and started making puzzles again in 2009. 

Since Sept 2012, Jeffrey has 26 puzzles published by the LA Times. I love the creativity & spontaneity in his themes & fill. 

How did this theme come to you and what were the other theme entries you also considered but discarded? 

I never really know how most themes occur to me; they often just pop up out of nowhere, while I'm reading, when I'm in bed, while I'm driving (that's dangerous!)  Sometimes themes emerge from a given word or phrase -- in this case it was GOOSENECK LAMP, although I don't know why I was thinking of that term.  This theme specifically required a name of a bird to be followed by a body part, so there weren't many options.  When I had three good ones, I left it there.

I don't recall a 3-themer from you, since your puzzles tend to be heavy in themage.  How did your grid designing & filling approach differ from a 4- or 5-themer grid?

When a grid is relatively light on theme entries, I sometimes use that as an opportunity to attempt the inclusion of long Down entries.  Used properly, they add interest for the solver and constructor alike. When I first submitted this puzzle, it actually included a 15-letter Down entry -- IT'S NOT VERY CLEAR -- going straight down the center!  Rich Norris felt that the phrase was not sufficiently in-the-language, and requested a revision of the grid.  I must admit that Rich has slapped me back into reality a few times on that score, and I've been attempting to moderate (or at least verify) my efforts in that regard.  After all, as Shakespeare wrote about Julius Caesar,  "As he was ambitious, I slew him." 

I was surprised to learn from David's interview that you don't rely on any wordlist and still construct by hand. How long did it take you to fill today's grid? And what tools do you use when you get stuck in a spot?

I don't recall how much time was needed to complete this particular construction.  Filling grids can vary from a few hours to many hours spread over many days for particularly intractable grids.  

I hope the other interview didn't give the idea that I eschew all word lists.  I use Crossword Compiler, which offers wordlists that fit certain given letter patterns for a single word-space.  In David Steinberg's definition, that still qualifies as a "hand-made" grid, because I do not use the Autofill option.  As I noted in that interview, I will not use Autofill; for me, that goes beyond the point of true authorship of a puzzle.  If I can't fill a particular section of a grid between the Crossword Compiler prompts and my own knowledge, that puzzle will remain incomplete.

What kind of themes and fill interest you and what kind do you try to avoid in your puzzles?

I sometimes try to work out themes that create interesting (I hope) variations on standard theme formats, like add or delete a letter (or letters), or words broken between two adjacent words, or a word of which segments become letters that surround the themers.  I've also recently been attempting grids that include visual components that fit within the parameters of the LA Times crossword.  Rich has shown an interest in a few of them, but they needed revision, so we shall see what eventually appears.   My RIVERBEND was one of those puzzles, where river names were found within L-shaped arrangements of circles.  But as you may recall, some sources published the puzzle without circles, and some actually published the puzzle with the river names already filled in.  (Fate dealing another blow against ambition, perhaps?)

If possible, I like to devise a theme that seems sui generis, or at least appears fresh or unusual.  One example is the "THERE WAS AN OLD LADY WHO SWALLOWED A" puzzle.  Here, again, the idea came out of nowhere  -- I don't know why that children's ditty came into my head.  However, when it did, it fascinated me and became a challenge to accommodate into a puzzle.  As Lemonade noted in his perceptive review, it was a puzzle bound to make solvers take sides -- pro or con.  But I appreciate that Rich Norris accepted it.
I have avoided the theme genre that involves a revealer like NEW BEGINNINGS, leading to themers that start with a word that can follow NEW, like AGE, MEXICO, DEAL, and so on.  For some reason, this seems too simple a format to me, although there is obviously nothing wrong with it. 

I love the clue for MEL OTT [Giant with power] & I'm so happy to see LAURA [Golfer Davies, seven-time Ladies European Tour Order of Merit awardee] finally gets some recognition in crosswords. What reference tools do you use to spice up your clues?
 
You can probably thank Rich Norris for both of those clues; they weren't mine.  At this point, I don't think I've yet become attuned to the wavelength of LA Times cluing.  I often come up with clues that I think are amusing, clever and fair, but many of them are discarded and replaced.  Given that reality, I should probably hold back on the spice, since my original clues already seem to be overspiced, or at least improperly spiced.  And ironically, given your inquiry, I rarely use any in-depth references to find unusual factoids, beyond Wikipedia ("If it's on the Internet, it must be true!" Yeah, sure), and a few very basic sources.  

I remember our first LAT from you is a themeless grid. Do you still make themeless or have you shifted your attention to themed grids only?

As you know from my David Steinberg interview, I returned to crossword construction after a 40-year hiatus.  In retrospect, it was very odd that I re-entered the puzzle world by trying to create themeless puzzles.  I had a few published (in the New York Times, and Stan Newman's Saturday Stumper).  However, I quickly realized that the level of expertise now prevalent among themeless constructors is so high that it was foolhardy to continue within that format.  Indeed, the themeless category apparently comprises a very large proportion of crossword submissions to major outlets, resulting in a great backlog of that type.  Thus, forgoing the themeless format is practical if I want to see my puzzles published.  It also frees me to search for other interesting theme concepts, and allows more scope for puns and other wordplay.

What puzzles do you solve every day & which constructor's puzzles are most difficult for you to solve?

Most of my effort within the crossword field is now limited to construction.  The only crossword I solve daily is the LA Times (I also solve Sunday New York Times puzzle.)  Because it is now my major outlet, I feel I should maintain direct contact with its themes, daily difficulty levels -- and clues!  I read Diary of a Crossword Fiend to keep up with trends in the other publications.  I attend the annual American Crossword Puzzle Tournament, but do so as a non-competing entrant.  That means I solve the puzzles, but I do not hand in my completed (or incomplete) puzzles for scoring.  Speed-solving doesn't appeal to me; it somewhat undermines my pleasure in working things out at my own pace.  From observation of other participants, I'd say my solving ability is somewhere slightly above the middle of the group. 

(Thanks to Lemonade for making this interview possible.)

Jun 15, 2014

Interview with Elizabeth C. Gorski

Since 1995, Elizabeth C. Gorski has 211 puzzles published by the New York Times, making her the second most-published crossword constructor under Will Shortz's editorship. Liz is also a regular contributor to the LA Times & The Wall Street Journal.

Liz is also the Managing Editor of Crossword Nation, which provides quintessential Liz- style puzzle every week: inventive themes, contemporary & adventurous fill & fantastic clues.  It's not unusual to see a 72-worder in her puzzles. See here as an example.

I've said this before: Liz sees what others can't. She does what others can't or won't.


What's your philosophy when it comes to grid design? Those stacked 6's & 7's on the upper right & lower left look daunting to fill, esp when crossed by 9/7/6. I might have also chickened out and broken 18-Across & 126-Across into two. 

My grid design philosophy is: literacy, humor and novelty. Once I position the themed entries and surround them with a good fill, I try to “open” the grid (reduce the word count) and introduce a new-and-better fill. The challenge is: to improve the fill and preserve accessibility. Perhaps the prospect of including WINEGLASS encouraged me to open up the grid!

Writing a puzzle fill takes time and repeated attempts -- lots of them. I keeping trying until the fill fits the bill.  Constructing “by hand” is an invaluable skill and I’ll use that method for tricky grid areas, such as 126-Across. Sometimes I’ll chicken out completely, reposition the themed entries and start over again. Perseverance is key.

Which part do you normally spend the most time on in the construction process: theme brainstorming, grid designing or cluing?

When I was starting out, I spent a lot of time on grid design, but today – the most time-consuming task is theme brainstorming. It takes time to develop themes that haven’t been done before. Since the ‘90s I’ve tried to find puzzle software that eliminates the repetitive drudge work (managing word lists, making grid templates, numbering etc.).  I love Crossword Compiler – it’s the best, in my opinion. I’ve written my own programs to manage word lists and automate uncreative tasks. 

I’m always adding interesting words (BESTIE) and removing terrible words (UNHAT) in an effort to create a “human” vocabulary. I don’t waste time assigning number values to words – that’s where I draw the line with software. By automating essential tasks, there's more time to focus on duties that call for a human brain – theme brainstorming and clue writing.  When used effectively, technology improves the quality of puzzles by freeing up more “think” time. It’s that simple.

Like many other solvers, I love the originality & extra visuals in your puzzles. I also love your clues. What tools do you use to make the clues fresh, creative and fun?

Thank you for the compliment!  After I finish a puzzle, I will revisit it over a period of a few days; that’s when I fold, spindle, mutilate or rewrite the clues.  It helps to let a puzzle breathe for a while. Think of a bottle of wine that needs to breathe.  There’s no secret sauce.  I just write and then rewrite. 

My favorite brain exercise is: thinking of new clues for plain words.  Like … GOTHS (Men and women in black); CHEEK (Moon unit?); SOCIETY (Human body?); POLKA DOTS (They’re spotted on dresses?); OAKS (They were nuts); DINOSAURS (Layer of jumbo eggs?)

One important note: of course, today’s puzzle was greatly improved by Rich Norris’ amazing talents. Rich proposed the puzzle title “Pas de Deux.” What a smashing play on words, with a Father’s Day twist! (Much better than “Pop Duo” – my title). His title is literate, artistic and thoughtful.  I love it.   

What kind of theme and fill excite you and what kind do you try to avoid in your grids? 

Above all, I try to avoid making puzzles with themes that have been done before. Puzzle databases (Jim Horne’s xwordinfo.com and Matt Ginsberg’s puzzledatabase) are enormously helpful; I use them to rule out ideas. I’m surprised to see puzzles with overdone themes these days. Like the MOA, that should be a thing of the past. 

When a constructor is brainstorming themes, it’s just as important to rule out certain themes, as it is to create new ones.  Solvers are smart – they know when a puzzle is old or a re-hash. As editors and constructors, it’s our responsibility to work harder for our customers.
 
When I make the weekly Crossword Nation puzzle, I have an turnaround-time advantage -- the work is published within days of creation.  We use technology to provide a fresh puzzle-solving experience for our subscribers. Puzzles are new and current – never kept on a shelf. This is the future of puzzle distribution and it’s radically different from the traditional model. I like to think of independent crossword providers as mom-and-pop stores that offer a high-quality alternative for to their customers. As a puzzle producer and consumer, I am a proponent of using technology to improve puzzle quality and distribution. We owe our customers – puzzle solvers -- a good product based on fresh content.   

Of all the puzzles you've constructed, which are you most proud of?

Because of its unusual asymmetric design, puzzle solvers often ask about the GuggenheimMuseum puzzle (“Ahead of the Curve”: October 2009, The New York Times). It was architectural – a simple spiral that echoed the shape of Frank Lloyd Wright’s prescient design. And it celebrated the Museum’s 50th anniversary.  What delighted me most was that, on the Sunday the puzzle was published, visitors to the Museum were seen walking the spiral with the crossword puzzle in hand! A puzzle within a puzzle. That was an unexpected honor.

What puzzles do you solve every day and which constructors constantly inspire you?
I regard “constructing” puzzles as a form of problem solving. You’re creating a problem for yourself (“Gee, I’d like to make a puzzle that looks like Secretariat or a double helix …”), and then you have to make the puzzle. (You’ve created a big problem for yourself!) That keeps my synapses firing.  As for daily puzzles, I try to keep up with Puzzle Social puzzles, if I have the time. 

If I were to choose a constructor who influenced me as a solver, it would be: Maura Jacobson.  Her New York Magazine puzzles were autobiographical – cute, funny, literate and accessible.  She wrote a Sunday-sized masterpiece (without software) every week, for 30 years. I admire her discipline and unique ability to challenge solvers without dumbing-down the puzzle.  Based on her ideas and clues, you sensed that Maura had many interests: books, travel, family, pets, cooking, films, punnery, popular culture, Broadway, classical music.  You came away from her puzzle feeling good and liking the person who made it … and counting the days until her next puzzle appeared. She is one of the most important crossword constructors ever. A true original.    

Besides crosswords, what else do you do for fun?

I am a trained musician (violin and viola) and I love to play chamber music, especially string quintets.  I’ve been a tennis player since high school and I have a passion for exploring New York City on foot. I like the music of Rob Thomas, Ed Sheeran and Frederic Chopin.  Other interests: flamenco dancing, root vegetables, air craft carriers (there’s one in NYC) and crop circles.

Jul 18, 2013

Interview with Julian Lim

Julian Lim is one of the few constructors who consistently delight solvers with their innovative themes and brilliant grid designs. Today's themeless-like 72-worder is a good example. It's tricky to start with a 8-letter theme entry, as it automatically results in stacked 8's & 6's.

Julian has been published by the NY Times, LA Times, Fireball & The Chronicle of High Education. We're very lucky to have covered all of Julian's LA Times creations here at the corner. You can click here to view all of them. 

Can you tell us a bit about your background? I sense a Malaysia/Singapore root from the spelling of your surname. It's often spelled as Lin & Lam in Chinese & Cantonese.
 
You're spot on -- I was born and went to school in Singapore. I then spent most of my 20s in the United States, first in college then grad school, before moving back home as a post-doc. My background is in psychology and neuroscience, and I work mostly with human brain imaging.

As far as I know, I'm the only regular American crossword constructor who lives in this neck of the woods. Crosswords puzzles aren't big here, but I'm trying to convert as many people as I can!

How did you get into crossword construction?

I started doing cryptic puzzles when I was in my teens, and then switched over to American-style puzzles (mostly the NYT) when I entered college. I'd avoided American puzzles previously on the mistaken assumption that they were "simple", and learned a sharp lesson when I first encountered an NYT themeless. 

I'm not sure I can pinpoint the exact moment when I thought I'd try my hand at constructing, but I think it was a desperate way to distract myself from writing my dissertation. My first few grids took eternities to fill -- I remember going to bed dreaming of black-and-white squares. I sent some of those early puzzles to joon pahk, who had very nice things to say about them, and after several rejections I had my first published puzzle in the LAT, and in the NYT shortly after that.
 
How would you describe your puzzle style? I always associate your name with innovative idea, heavy theme & low word count.
 
I'm not sure that I have a distinctive style in the way some other constructors do. Perhaps one thing I do more often than others is have theme entries cross in a 15x15 to allow for 6 theme answers to be used. I've been able to get some pretty nice grids using that approach without sacrificing fill quality.  I do enjoy innovative themes, but hitting on them is a chance and rare occurrence (usually happens when I'm in a bar), so I will use more standard theme types if I can find an interesting set of answers. I can also get a little *too* innovative at times -- a few of my rejections for themed puzzles over the years have basically been: "I don't get it". Perhaps I should start a website with a compilation of themes editors didn't understand.

Which part do you enjoy the most in the construction process: theme development, filling or cluing?

Filling is the most fun part of the process for me. I like it especially because even after you reach the standard of producing publishable work you stilll get to raise the bar for yourself (using fewer partials, abbrvs. and so forth). One thing I've noticed is that I've developed a sort of sixth sense about how to make a grid that will fill in a tidy way, and that's made the process a lot less frustrating and more enjoyable as well.

I used to enjoy cluing a lot more when I first started out, but of course it gets harder and harder over time to clue the little repeaters, especially in early-week puzzles. It's also a little vexing to spend a long time coming up with a great clue only to have it edited out. Cluing themelesses is always a blast though.
 
You've made both themed and themeless puzzles. What are the major differences in your approach to fill?
 
Apart from the fact that themelesses obviously start from a glamor seed entry, really not that much. I fill many of my puzzles (both themed and themeless)  from the bottom right, with the exception of those that have tightly constrained spots in the middle of the grid. I think one difference might be that with themelesses I'll try several different versions of a corner after finding one that's acceptable and then pick my favorite,  so it takes me several times longer to make a themeless grid. 

Besides crosswords, what are your other hobbies?

My hobbies have changed over the years. I used to be involved in singing (both choral and a cappella) and duplicate bridge when I was younger, but not so much nowadays. I like jogging and LesMills classes. I also try and travel as much as I can.