GAMES PEOPLE PLAY
Creating Crossword Puzzles for Fun & Profit: A Visit with Christina Iverson
The first time I noticed the name Will Shortz was when he was editor of Games Magazine from 1989–93. I remember the name because during that time I submitted a story to Games comprised of one-third homonyms titled How Eye One the Wore. (It was accepted and published!)
Years later I noticed that he’d become crossword puzzle editor for the New York Times. Simultaneously he’s been Puzzle Master on NPRs Weekend edition and even wrote clues for The Riddler in the film Batman Forever. He’s not only authored or edited 100 books himself, he’s built up a collection of 20,000 puzzle books from as far back as 1545. It’s no puzzle where his interests lie.
So it was exciting for me when I learned that my daughter had not only taken an interest in making crossword puzzles, she’d also had one of her puzzles accepted by the New York Times.
Through her I’ve since learned that there’s a lot more to those New York Times crossword puzzles than I’d previously realized. Therefore, it seemed like a cool idea to pick her brain and share here what I’ve learned.
