Crossword Specialist
| Hello, My name is James West and I make puzzles for magazines, newspapers, websites, etc. My puzzles are not generic in any way - they are made with specific customers in mind. All of my crossword puzzles have a theme, and are made so that the average person can solve them without having to resort to using a dictionary to look up ridiculous words that the average person would never use. Words like henweigh. Well what's a henweigh you might ask? Oh about 3 pounds. HA! I crack myself up with that one every time. Get it? What's a hen weigh? Hen as in chicken.....oh well never mind. Anywhodillydoodilly, let me tell you what I think makes a crossword puzzle interesting and fun. First of all it has to have a theme. The themed answers are usually the longest answers on the grid - typically 3 or 4 themed answers for a 15 by 15 puzzle (a 15 by 15 puzzle means 15 squares across by 15 squares down). That's the size you find in your average daily newspaper and the size I like to make. If a puzzle doesn't have a theme it's just no fun to solve. The grid layout should be symmetrical so that if there is a black square in the upper right hand corner of the grid, there should be a corresponding black square in the opposite corner of the grid, and so on. There should also never be less than 3 blank squares next to each other, so that all the answered words in the puzzle are at least 3 letters long. The clues should be interesting and/or funny. So, go ahead and print out some of my puzzles and solve them, and then after you solve a couple, let me make a fun-to-solve, themed crossword puzzle for your publication that your customers will love and appreciate. Oh, and by the way, if you work the "Joke Puzzle" be warned - it's kind of naughty (nudge nudge, wink, wink). |
