my job Photo Phoebe Powell. Thanks to Third Drawer Down for the giant Dixon pencil.
be doing a theme about famous comedians, for instance, so you have to start with the words and fit them in the grid. You go through a lot of trial and error, but it means you get a really high-quality crossword. Otherwise, if you’re just trying to work to a grid, you’ll find yourself using really obscure words. I only allow two obscure words per puzzle – that way, people will still learn something they didn’t know the day before. Other rules you have to follow when compiling a grid: it has to be symmetrical, and there has to be a certain amount of white vs. black space.
nine to five LIAM RUNNALLS IS A PROFESSIONAL CROSSWORD WRITER. As told to Sophie Kalagas
I slip secret messages into puzzles all the time, and people don’t really seem to notice. For example, I’m a Brisbane Lions supporter, so once I hid the names of all my favourite players in the grid. I also hid the words to “Never Gonna Give You Up” – I tried to Rickroll people. I really just do it for my own amusement. As a compiler, you need to keep updating your knowledge of words. We keep a pretty close eye on Urban Dictionary; it’s quite a prestigious thing to be the first person to use a certain word. We’re also on the lookout for 15-letter phrases, as a standard crossword is 15 squares across. A regular cryptic crossword is about a day’s work, because the clues take a bit more thought, but I can bang out a quick crossword within an hour.
One of my first jobs out of university was working as a typesetter on the puzzles page of The Age. It wasn’t just crosswords – it was the Sudoku and the targets and even the comics. I’d check them, do a bit of proofreading and make sure the answers matched up. That was where I met David Astle, who people probably know from Letters and Numbers. He became a bit of a mentor to me, and taught me the ropes; eventually I got an email saying they were looking for a new crossword writer at The Age. I had to submit some of my work, but it just made sense – I was already familiar with the page, and knew how it all worked behind the scenes. In January 2012, my first-ever puzzle was published.
People often say, “Oh my god, my mum or grandma would really love to meet you!” It’s great when you meet someone and it’s that one in a thousand who actually has some sort of relationship with you on the page. They say, “You’re LR!?” because we keep anonymous with our initials. I’ll always surprise people with what I’m like and how old I am. I started when I was 29, and I’m 35 now. Other than David Astle, every other compiler at Fairfax is 70 or 80, really. I’m seeing a fair bit of enthusiasm towards crosswords from young people these days, though, which is what we need to keep the art alive.
These days, my work is syndicated across The Age and Sydney Morning Herald. I write cryptic crosswords and the quick crossword on a Monday. Basically, cryptic clues are more like riddles using word play, whereas the quick crossword is just normal definitions. I’m one of seven compilers at Fairfax – ‘cruciverbalist’ is the fancy term. I have other clients I create puzzles for, too, like the Golden Plains Music Festival, and I write crosswords for special occasions like birthdays and weddings.
I get a real feeling of calmness when I’m deep into writing a crossword – I can sit there for hours and completely clear my head. It becomes an environment of words and nothing much else. That’s what keeps me going back – plus the moments when I make people laugh or say, “A-ha!”
There are two schools of thought when it comes to building a crossword. If it’s themed, generally the words come first. You might
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