Australian Crosswords

Earlier this year I talked about the first steps a would-be setter should take before having a crack at writing their debut cryptic crossword. There are lots of mistakes made even by someone who has solved for many years make because setting requires a different perspective, one not everyone is capable of this. Here are some pointers for new setters: Keep it simple: It’s really easy to complicate things right from the off. You should want to create a simple cryptic that you can put together without too much effort and those trying it out can solve without too much effort. It’s actually easy to make an easy clue more difficult than the other way round, so get the structure right first and tweak later. Grid: I can’t tell you how important it is to get the grid pattern right. The right grid will give you the best chance at picking the right words to clue and the solver will also get a better chance at solving. I’ve seen too many new setters opt for a complicated grid like one with four 15-letter words running around the outside with the goal of creating something the looks special. The nett result inevitably is a mixture of ordinary, unusual and obscure words as the setter is overly restricted by the outer words. A balanced grid is needed with a variety of lengths, obeying the grid rules I’ve mentioned before. Don’t assume that every published grid is a good one. Words: Most solvers are would-be setters and they collect clues they think of during their solving career. It’s common for a new setter to then try and squeeze this collection into their first crossword – a ready-made set of clues and answers. Don’t do it! By all means put in one or two, but do it cleverly: not 1 across or 1 down, where multiple first letters get tied up, but somewhere central where the seeded letters don’t overly influence further word selection. Before adding a new word in, have some idea on how you would clue it: don’t pick difficult words to clue as one poor clue will undo any good work shown in the rest of the puzzle. Unravelling the grid to get rid of a nasty word can be a horrendous task: pick your words wisely. Clues: I’m not going to dictate here except to say don’t write a clue that you wouldn’t like to solve yourself; make sure you understand exactly how and why a device works before you use it; don’t assume that because a professional setter uses a device that it’s worth using (you have to be comfortable in its use and ready to justify it – “Joe Bloggs” uses it is not adequate justification); try to have a “concise dictionary” mentality with answers, definitions and wordplay components; use a mixture of different devices and always look back over your clues with a solver’s perspective. Tools: Even if you think you may only write one cryptic crossword it’s worth finding some software to help you. The main reason I say this is that it’s hard to follow my guidelines above without it. You could spend hours thumbing through a dictionary or inserting letters into word pattern website and still you won’t end up with a grid full of suitable words. A program like Crossword Compiler has been $49US for over 20 years and is unbeatable value. The basic version is all you need to write your first cryptic – you can add fancy bits (grid filling add-on, dictionaries etc) later if you want. If writing cryptics turns out to be not your thing, then the software can still be useful for creating any kind of crossword, wordsearches and sudokus for use in the classroom, for newsletters or on the web. I’d love to hear from anyone who wants to give cryptic crossword writing a go – always happy to pass on advice. If you don’t want to commit to buying software, I’ll also knock up a suitable starter grid with words for you – just ask.

A few weeks ago I mentioned that if you ask people for their favourite cryptic clues the likely response will be either a cryptic definition or an &lit. This is also true when people are asked for ANY examples of cryptic clues – mainly for the same reason – they are easy to remember. So let’s try an exercise: I’d like to know one of your favourite two-part (wordplay/definition) cryptic clues and the reason(s) why. At this point I’d like to acknowledge that I don’t have favourite clues (of any type) and I don’t write down any clues that particularly take my fancy. In any given puzzle I’ll usually be tickled by a couple of clues that are written well, have good surface, and have some aspect of cleverness about them, either in the wordplay or the definition. To me such clues are all at the same level: top-notch, and there’s very little between any of them.
I will say that there’s one aspect of clues deemed “the best” in a puzzle (as stated by blogging solvers) that confounds me. Why are super-hard clues, ones that need to be explained by others, or those could never by solved by the wordplay ranked so highly? It’s a mystery to me. As a setter a feel as though I’ve failed if I’m guilty of writing such clues and as a solver the clues leave me disappointed. I guess we are all different.