People By Martha Tintin

People Unusual Job

By MARTHA TINTIN

A Puzzling Job

Crosswords puzzles are for a few a full-time job, for many a hobby. A form of entertainment that accompanies solvers in their travels, while they wait for a doctor's appointment or on their commutes to work, puzzles lay there, neatly placed in the last pages of the newspaper. We, however, never stop to think about who’s behind that grid of tiny black and white squares.

14 ACROSS: LEARNING PROCESS

“I am the crossword puzzle editor of the New York Times,” says Will Shortz. His position is the most prestigious in the puzzle making circle. He’s the only known person on earth to hold a degree in Enigmatology, which he obtained from Indiana University in 1974. (Indiana University is one of the few institutions to allow students to major in any subject they choose. This is done thanks to their Individualized Major Program. This program is based on individual learning and gives students the opportunity to have the distinction of having pursued a personalized course of study.) That said, it is important to mention there’s no real education for someone who wants to pursue a career in crossword puzzle construction. So, how can one learn the tricks? Manuela Mellini, journalist and cofounder of Verme, asserts “the Internet now offers many resources and advice to those who want to take this career,” and adds “puzzle making is a job that has a great connotation of craft, and just like the trades, you learn by practicing it vastly.” According to Judie Durrant, Editorial Coordinator at Lovatts Media Group, there are no specific qualifications to become a crossword compiler, but says “many on our team have some qualification in language-related courses, e.g. degrees in English, linguistics or journalism.” Dal Shields, UK Operations Manager at Lovatts Publishing, says “the very best way to learn what makes a great puzzle is to solve as many puzzles as possible from a wide variety of compilers, analyzing all the while what factors are adding up to making the challenge entertaining and satisfying from the solver's point of view.” Many people get into it just by making puzzles and sending them in for publication. “It’s very much an open field,” says Shortz. The Internet is an excellent source for learning the basics, plus there are forums where people can learn and share information with other constructors. Another way to get into the field is to know someone, as it’s a very small circle, Shortz says. “There are two main puzzle events in the US. One of them is the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament which I founded and run every year. It hosts over a 1,000 people. Then there’s an organization, the National Puzzlers League, which has a monthly magazine called The Enigma and an annual convention. This is a good way to find other puzzle people, because many puzzle makers and editors attend these events.”

3 DOWN: PERSONALITY AND SKILLS

People who are drawn to puzzle-making are fascinated by how language works. They are likely to be avid readers, keen crossword solvers and/or Scrabble players with a strong background in grammar, semantics and spelling. “Being a good crossword solver is certainly an advantage in their creation,” says Mellini as does Durrant: “the best way to learn the art of crossword compiling and clueing is to do it.“ According to Brendan Emmett Quigley, a freelance puzzle maker, being observant is also a quality that shouldn’t be understimated, "I am observant, I noticed that in American puzzles there are some rules that constantly apply; the grid looks the same upside down as it does downside up; the smallest number of letters per word is 3 letters.” Shields says that being computer literate is a necessity, “the mechanics of putting a puzzle together involve computers far more than it used to, so a reasonable degree of computer literacy is definitely an asset. Christine and James [Lovatts] started their puzzling career nearly 30 years ago using blank paper, pencils and ruler at their kitchen table, but these days a compiler's best friend is their computer!”

17 ACROSS: DAILY ACTIVITIES Daily routines vary depending on if you work for a newspaper, a syndicate or are a freelancer. Durrant explains, “our days are very busy with constant deadlines. Compiling puzzles involves lots of research and we’re surrounded by dictionaries and other reference books. All puzzles that have been compiled need to be checked and rechecked for accuracy and repetition and difficulty level.” Quigley, for example, writes on average a puzzle a day and talks online with other puzzle friends for advice on clues. He works from home and only rarely

needs a quieter place, as he says “if I have a lot of work that I need to concentrate on, I’ll go to the library, but I don’t really have an office and I can write from anywhere.” David Hoyt is a puzzle maker and game inventor whose day starts very early (on average at 3am) because of the huge workload and because he feels more creative in the morning. He says, “it makes for a long day but it makes for a happy day.” Myles Mellor, another freelance puzzle writer, says “I generally write 4 puzzles every day. I write different crossword puzzles. I write themed crossword puzzles for websites and magazines, but also for private customers, for example, personalized puzzles for wedding or birthday parties” and adds “then I write for newspapers and those puzzles are more general. I also dedicate time to the marketing aspect of my job, where I try to interest people and get new business.” It’s clear puzzles don’t only end up in newspapers, but can be used for other purposes, including commercial ads. The workday in the life of an editor varies considerably, Shortz works from home and doesn’t have working hours, but he does have deadlines. Some days he focuses on the correspondence. “I get 75 to 100 submissions a week. I look through submissions, decide whether I like the puzzle or not, and respond; everyone gets a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ and a comment or more about the puzzle.” Other days he edits puzzles. The difficulty level in the New York Times varies, from easy-medium on Mondays and building up to very hard on Sundays. He says, “I edit the puzzles for accuracy first of all and also for interest and novelty; on average, half of the clues in the New York Times are mine.” Further, he says “I then send the puzzle to test solvers, get the comments and corrections, so that I polish them and send them off to the newspaper.”

23 DOWN: THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE SATISFACTION

According to Mellor and Hoyt the main advantages are the independence and freedom that this job can give you. You can potentially work from anywhere and set your own schedule. Mellini and Quigley feel blessed to be able to do the job they love, which is an enormous advantage. Shortz loves the idea of playing every day, as he says “Playing with words and making puzzles is genuinely fun.” There are a number of disadvantages, of course. First and foremost, only 10 people or so in the US make a living out of puzzle making. The income isn’t huge and for many crossword writing remains a hobby. According to Quigley, another disadvantage is that it is very hard to be creative all the time, with constant deadlines and requests. Shortz agrees, “the deadlines are unrelenting. I get an astonishing amount of mail, so there’s always work to be done.“ Mellini and Hoyt agree that another disadvantage is that it can be a huge, energy-consuming commitment. In Mellor’s opinion, the disadvantage only resides in the lack of stability, especially in monetary terms, “there’s no fixed income, it varies from month to month, which makes it hard to make plans,” and adds “I used to be an executive, that’s much more stable. I knew how much I’d get, how often; my working hours.” The biggest advantage of all, though, is how rewarding the job is. As Durrant puts it, “customer feedback is very rewarding.”

45 ACROSS: AN OLD BUT GOOD PIECE OF ADVICE

Mellor exclaims, “don’t quit your day job!” Mellini recommends to “focus on the quality.” Shortz and Hoyt advise to learn as much as you can on the subject and allow time to get good at it. Appreciate the times when you don’t succeed, as Hoyt says “it’s not the yesses who made me successful, it’s the no’s. It was how I took ‘no’.” A final piece of advice by Quigley is “solve as many puzzles as you can, because that’s the only way to understand how to get better.”

52 DOWN: THE END OF AN ESSAY

Remember that puzzle making is a battle against the solver, a battle that the constructor knows they have to lose. So be creative and keep challenging solvers to their limits, but make them win! As Quigley says “puzzle making is a battle that the constructor is expected to lose. If I don’t, then it’s a bad puzzle.”•