I always enjoy reading constructor notes - where they got the idea for their theme, how difficult the puzzle was to construct, what changed between submission and publication, etc. So, I figured I'd put my own thoughts out there in case there are others like me. Feel free to leave a comment with any thoughts (positive or negative). I also talk a bit more about crosswords on Twitter: @billy_xw.
I submitted this puzzle on April 17 and got the good news on September 14. It's cool how it's being run only seven or so weeks after getting acceptance. I don't think that's unusual, either - I think it's just how the WSJ does things. Fine by me.
This is my first WSJ puzzle and second publication ever. For all I know, it could be my last. I love building crosswords but it's hard for me to come up with theme ideas. I marvel at the prolific constructors (young and old) who seem to have a never-ending supply of clever gimmicks and wordplay. I have time on my side, at least. Maybe lightning will strike again.
Speaking of the theme: I got the inspiration for this puzzle's theme from my wife, who grew up on Cape Cod. We headed up to the Cape a few years ago to visit her family and took a ferry over to Martha's Vineyard while we were there. (My wife actually used to sell tickets for the ferry as a teenager.) It was unseasonably cool, so she bought a long-sleeve t-shirt with "MARTHA'S VINEYARD" stamped across it to keep herself warm. All of this happened way before I had even thought about constructing crossword puzzles, but luckily she continues to wear that shirt to this day. After seeing it dozens of times, something clicked and I realized that maybe "Female first name possessive plus noun" could be a theme. I dropped everything and started to brainstorm.
Some possibilities that didn't make it in:
- Maggie's Farm
- Angela's Ashes
- Jennifer's Body
- Jane's Addiction
- Rosemary's Baby
- Veronica's Closet
Honestly, I think the four themers that made the final cut are the best ones. I guess Rosemary's Baby is well known, but none of the others are as "in the culture" as the four that made the puzzle. (Even Rosemary's Baby isn't as known as Sophie's Choice, is it?) It was just a coincidence that the best options also worked symmetrically. I'm glad that I got some diversity, as well: a movie, a book, an island, and a retailer. Better than a bunch of pop culture references. (Okay, yes, Sophie's Choice was a book first, but it's better known as a movie. Sorry, Mr. Styron.)
The working title was "Girl's, Girl's, Girl's" based off a Jay-Z song, but once I realized this puzzle was half-decent, I put some more thought into a title and came up with "Ladies' Night." I'm not great at titles but I think this one works fine.
Once I had the themers, building the grid wasn't too difficult. I'm not great at building grids. It takes a lot of trial and error. I use software but only Phil and David Steinberg's clue database, so it's more manual labor than many (most?) other constructors. After I got a puzzle published, I figured I should upgrade, and I bought Crossword Compiler, but I never got comfortable with the interface and I don't use it. (Not trying to pan Crossword Compiler - just wasn't for me.)
When I do build a grid, I really try to make it airtight: few to no cheater squares, wide open spaces, not a lot of three-letter-words, etc. Those are just the types of puzzles that I prefer to solve myself. It's also nice to have a bit of wiggle room while I'm doing the fill. If I'm stuck and need to throw in another block to find a way through, I usually can afford to do so.
The fill gave me some challenges, but that's always the case. The stickiest spot was the top center. Surprisingly, the M in MARTHA'S VINEYARD really limited me, and I think that three-consonant string (RTH) in the same word also caused some issues. I really try to hold myself to high standards on the fill. I can't control what an editor thinks of my theme, or whether they have another one just like it in the queue. All I can do is make the grid, fill, and clues as good as I can make them. I'm no expert but I think that's useful advice for any new constructor.
I also worry so much about the fill because the crossword blogs spend an inordinate amount of time harping on it. (Do the 99% of solvers who don't read crossword blogs care about some crossword glue? Maybe?) The crosswordese I do everything to avoid are the words that only show up in crosswords (MOUE, ETUI, and the like). I don't care as much about oft-used but still "real" words like ERA, EEL, and others. Yeah, ERA shows up a million times and it'd be great if we could give it a rest, but at least it's a real word that people use in everyday conversation. A new solver will know it. Will a new solver know MOUE? Probably not.
Here's a comparison of the grid I submitted and the grid that went to print:
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| My original submission |
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| Published grid |
As you can see, it's different in a number of ways. Those changes were all made by the WSJ editorial team and they definitely improved the smoothness of the solve. When my puzzle got accepted, the team indicated that they envisioned it running early in the week and that they'd likely make some changes to get rid of a few of the more challenging words. I was worried that they'd put blocks in the 'R' in EXTRAPAY and 'I' in PASSIONS to break up those longer words. I'm really glad they didn't. The grid feels much more open and the corners much more accessible without them.
Like I mentioned, the WSJ team definitely improved the puzzle overall with their revisions. I'm not sure I'm sold on HAYMOW, however, especially on a Monday. But you can see by comparing their version to mine that HAYMOW allowed them to turn ELISE and MIO to ERASE and MAO, which is an improvement. (Personally, I never put MAO in my puzzles because of, y'know, the millions of deaths he caused, but he's certainly more gettable than MIO, and same goes for ERASE vis a vis ELISE.) Plus, just because I don't know HAYMOW doesn't mean it's bad fill. I have more than my share of knowledge gaps, and one perk of the editorial cleanup is that they can help fill in those gaps.
It's fun (for me, at least) to compare the two versions and notice the improvements and the tradeoffs. I liked SNOCONES, for example, but I really didn't like CLARO and ATVS. Can't have one without the others. Subbing in EXTRAPAY resulted in a much smoother top-center portion. Likewise, I prefer BLISS and HIPPO to SLATY and HARPO, but their changes enabled them to get rid of LUE, which would be tough for Monday solvers. In fact, they made so many cleanups that I almost don't know if it's fair of me to claim authorship. (Almost.) I guess the bones are mine - the theme, the grid design, and the longdowns. They didn't tear the house down; they just spruced it up.
I don't have a ton to say about the cluing, which is always the least interesting part of construction for me. I was concerned that the WSJ would "de-wackify" my theme clues and make them straightforward, like [E.B. White novel]. I'm glad they didn't. In fact, they kept my theme clues almost as-submitted. I had suggested [Jane Eyre author's map of characters?] for 24-Across. I've got no issue with their change. I think a character web is a niche concept that may not have resonated with solvers. I did have a few clues to the smaller words I thought were clever that got scaled back, but I'll just save those for another day. I was pleased to see that my clue for PLATES survived.
Final thought - I wish I could say that ORGY crossing PASSIONS and VICTORIA'S SECRET was intentional, but no. Just a happy little accident, a la Bob Ross.
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