I generally take three days to complete a 15×15 cryptic crossword – which may not be to The Times standards but is certainly enjoyed by target audience and rarely attracts adverse remarks.

The fills are done in a few minutes. Then the grid is examined for any possible trouble spots though these are not likely to be there because no autofill was done and every slot was completed after due consideration of crossings. The grid is then rested.

Then it is one day for the Across clues and another for Down clues.

Each of the sets is done in two sessions, taking some seven or eight at a time during a whole day when other demands on myself are met.

A puzzle can be done or may be done in one day but I don’t enjoy it. I like to set a puzzle in a leisurely manner, the lookup of a word sometimes leading me to byways of the English language.

Six crosswords are published in a month but , because of steady work, no courier from the newspaper is waiting for me at the door to receive copy from me. In compilation I am some seven months ahead.

For initial long entries I depend upon books such as R. J. Edwards’ The Crossword Phrase Dictionary (Stanley Paul) or Norman G. Pulsford’s Modern Crossword Dictionary, one of my early acquisitions and an all-time favourite, since rebound to hold the pages together. I do have other dictionaries such as Oxford Crossword Dictionary and Bradfords’ Crossword Key Dictionary , these two very rarely used because they are not user-friendly. Nor do I use the database in crossword software for the opening fills.

I do not use a scrapbook for writing possible clues for candidate grid entries: the clue-writing begins only after the fills.

Finally, my devout wish is for a recent book like Edwards’ with databases from published crosswords in mainstream newspapers (the editors giving the dbs of lights to the book compiler and publisher) and other modern resources.

Today’s experience shows how unpredictable that can be. A puzzle I was setting for the Times was finally abandoned a couple of days ago after about a month of on-off work; one corner was proving extremely difficult to clue, but by changing a couple of problematic answers I kept getting forced into using ones which were a little too obscure for my liking. There must have been half a dozen re-builds until I finally lost patience with it and scrapped the whole thing.

On Monday afternoon I started afresh on a different grid and I didn’t even bother to try and transfer across any clues from the failed puzzle. This new one was emailed to the editor this morning, having accounted for about ONE full day of setting.

I like to allow myself a total of about three days on a puzzle, but the truth is that once you start it’s almost impossible to gauge just how long the job will take.

Out of interest, in the abandoned puzzle one of the awkward answers was the innocent-looking WALES. I’m sure there’s a clever clue in there somewhere but I battled on and on without finding anything worthwhile – much kudos for good suggestions! But that also goes to show how entering an answer which seems, on the surface, pretty easy to deal with can still lead to unexpected problems.

A very good description of the kind of work involved in writing a good puzzle. The main lesson for would-be setters is the time taken, even by someone who has done this many times before.

I’m even disciplined enough to read the comments here but not, so far, Anax’s explanatory article. Sorely tempted though, so I shall log off and go to bed after posting this.

Looking forward to it though.

Ho Hum!

I have had a scan round T’Internet and will check your links – Thanks again!

http://www.ukpuzzle.com/phpBB3/index.php

As for software, Crossword Compiler (Anthony Lewis) and Crosswordman (Ross Beresford) are the two big names, and both are truly excellent. They’re not free – all bells and whistles versions cost i.r.o. £100 – but evaluation versions are available for download. I can’t really choose between the two; Crosswordman suits the “serious” setter and includes a Wordplay Wizard which suggests ways in which an answer can be broken down – while Crossword Compiler boasts greater variety in puzzle templates, offering wordsearches, clues-in-squares, coded puzzles, fill-in, even sudoku! Both packages have a variety of pre-designed grids, or you can design your own.

Crossword Compiler
http://www.crossword-compiler.com/

Crosswordman
http://www.crosswordman.com/sympathy.html

There are free packages for both on- and offline use but they’re not sophisticated and I’m not aware of any which offer more than just filling a grid, but I’m not up to date on that as I’ve been using the two above for some years now. A good resource to see what’s available is Ray Hamel’s database:

http://www.primate.wisc.edu/people/hamel/software.html

It was also surprising to note how few people appear to have tried the crossword/rated it/commented on it.

Favourite clues:
18a (even though it cost me a pint!)
15a – I loved the fact that the first three words were all anagram indicators – I was chasing my tail for ages!. The penny-drop od approaching waterworks was fun.
Another great penny-drop was ‘Piece of soap’.
9d – I had no idea of a ‘No Dad’! – I started out trying to remove the Pa from Pants – good misdirection – was it intentional?

Like others here I would like to have a crack at compiling a puzzle. Can you recommend any databases (such as that shown above) and any grid templates (or software to create your own). I don’t mind paying for something but this isnt going to be anything more than a play around so I dont want to break the bank!.

Does the situation ever arise where you encounter a complete stumbling block that isn’t resolved by a mental break?

From time-to-time I’ve set about writing a crossword (just for myself) and I recognised many of the steps and decisions that you’ve articulated. I find it almost addictive – often it’s getting late, but I want to just write one more clue… and then another.
I’ll perhaps follow the advice you gave to Edi and submit one or two puzzles to Alberich’s site, I would find it rewarding if others were to solve them and it would be nice to get some feedback.

http://www.alberichcrosswords.com/

Alberich is an extremely highly regarded setter, currently on the FT, and has also had the occasional puzzle in the Listener series – he’s also great when it comes to helping you to hone clues into finished product (some editors merely make their own changes, which isn’t what you want).

By all means question my puzzle’s definitions. As I’ve mentioned in the preface, this is very much a raw puzzle, and I would expect an editor to pinpoint any definitions he was unsure of. I was very happy for Dave to publish the puzzle separately, but that wasn’t the original intention, so effectively you’ve been solving an unfinished crossword.

Waiting for the rest of the clueless club to have a look before i moan about a few of the definitions. 10a, 22a, 17d and 20d