Sarah Lolley
  • Mailbox Missions
  • NDG Walks
  • What's New
  • Intro to Cryptic Crosswords
  • CBC/QWF Writer-in-Residence
  • Contact Me
  • Puzzle Tutorial
  • Practice Puzzles

The Proof is in the Cryptic

6/26/2017

6 Comments

 
In just ten days, I'll have my first cryptic crossword in print and I couldn't be more excited. It's being published by Montreal Review of Books, which you can get all over Canada (see here for a list of places that carry it). I'm especially honoured given that this is the first time they've published a cryptic crossword before.
Picture
I hadn't really thought of it until my editor called to double-check a word in one of my clues, but proofreading a cryptic crossword puzzle must be really tricky. Clues can sound really weird even when they're right and even a perfectly symmetrical grid can have a structural error (which happened with The Globe and Mail a few months back).

​If you don't happen to solve cryptic crosswords, which my editor doesn't (yet), how do you proceed?

​When I'm writing creatively, the most important part of the process of getting to a final piece is not the brainstorming or the slog through the first draft, or even the copy editing at the end, it's the beta-reading. This is the stage at which I must ask the really tough questions. Does the character's motivation make sense? Are the stakes high enough? Is the pacing even? Are there sections of this piece of writing that don't seem to belong here? And at the end of the day, is this piece of writing meaningful?

​There are a handful of people whom I trust to give me the cold truth about what I'm working on, even if it's not what I want to hear. For years, they have reviewed everything I've published, from crime fiction to QWF/CBC Writer-in-Residence essays about Montreal.

My work is always stronger for it.
Picture
When I finished my cryptic crossword puzzle for Montreal Review of Books, I harangued my gorgeous husband to not only solve the thing but to solve it in front of me. I wanted to check for three things. First, I wanted to ensure that all the clues were solvable and not overly clunky. Next, I wanted to ensure that everything fit properly into the grid. 

The third thing was new to me. A few months ago, my unwitting mentors, DA and anax, helped me understand that a good setter plans for a puzzle to have a certain internal momentum. There should be a few easier clues scattered around the grid, which serve as an "in" to the trickier ones. For the first time, I really thought about the internal momentum as I planned out this puzzle, and I wanted to see, as my husband solved it, if my efforts paid off.

There were a few little things that needed correction -- a numerator was missing and two of the clues had room for improvement on word choice -- but imagine my delight when I discovered that the internal momentum of the puzzle was exactly what I'd hoped it would be, in this one solve, anyway.
Picture
The whole thing led me to wonder. Do papers like The Globe and Mail have beta-solvers on staff for their cryptic crossword puzzles? Is there anyone who proofreads the clues? Or is this labour of love one that is invariably undertaken by the long-suffering paramours of cryptic crossword setters?

6 Comments
anax
6/27/2017 01:54:50 pm

First of all - congratulations! It's always a great feeling to get your first puzzle in print.
I noticed a few Twitter comments pointing out the role of editor (which is true) but it looks as if I'm in a minority by not having test solvers. Testers are fine in principle, but only the editor is fully conversant with house rules, and house rules don't always match what test solvers think is acceptable. They may actually be correct - often are - but editors examine style and content as well as cryptic technique.
Any clue which ventures into the world of sex, toilet humour, bodily functions, disease, drugs, even religion and politics is subject to editorial policy ahead of Ximenean/Libertarian validity.

Reply
Sarah
6/28/2017 01:25:18 pm

Thanks for the congratulations, anax! Interesting point about house rules. I quite agree about editing out any taboo references, even if the clue does work well with them. Can I convince you to try the Montreal Review of Books cryptic when it's out?

Reply
Brig
6/27/2017 06:01:23 pm

First off, hearty congratulations.

My last published puzzle went through 4 editors if you include myself - I like to leave them alone for a month before I revisit them. My own tester was next - I have a variety of testers who range from the critical to the test-till-destruction type, I used the latter. The broadsheet editor then had a go before a guy the editor farmed it out to. Each of these solvers found something to criticise.

It was a bit of a slog since it's predecessor escaped with the addition of an adverb to one clue between my draft and publication.

Reply
Sarah
6/28/2017 01:26:42 pm

Thanks for the congratulations! I'm very excited. Imagine having four editors review a single puzzle! Hopefully my long-suffering beta-solver didn't miss anything. Can I convince you to try the Montreal Review of Books cryptic when it's out?

Reply
Eimi
6/28/2017 04:30:34 pm

Congratulations Sarah. As an editor of more years than I'd care to recount, I'd say that passion goes a long way in many fields and cryptic crosswords are no exception. It's clear that you really care about them and that bodes very well.

Reply
Sarah
6/28/2017 06:26:23 pm

Thanks for the vote of confidence, Eimi! For what publication(s) do you edit cryptic crosswords?

Reply

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Picture

    About Sarah

    I'm a writer, adventurer, amateur setter of cryptic crosswords, lover of "ah-ha!" moments, and exhausted mom.

    Archives

    November 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    April 2019
    May 2018
    April 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    March 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    February 2016
    December 2015
    September 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    December 2013

    Categories

    All
    Accents
    Acrostics
    Amazement
    Bob Dylan
    Books
    Brain
    Certainty
    Choose Your Own Adventure
    Chris Hadfield
    Christmas
    Coincidence
    Creativity
    Cryptic Crossword Tutorial
    Editing Puzzles
    ELLE Magazine
    Epiphany
    Escape Room
    Family
    Finding Your Way
    Fraser Simpson
    Globe And Mail
    Group Solving
    Hero
    Hidden Messages
    Homophone Clues
    Horcrux
    Leonard Cohen
    Love
    Making Mistakes
    Maps
    Marriage
    Memory
    #MeToo
    Momentum
    Montreal Review Of Books
    Motherhood
    Music
    Mystery
    Nabokov
    Natural Phenomena
    Oliver Sacks
    Personal Essay
    Personalized Cryptics
    Politics
    Puzzles In Print
    Renovation
    Secrets
    Setting Puzzles
    The Committee Of Sleep
    The Coriolis Effect
    Travel
    Wes Anderson
    Wordplay
    Writer-in-Residence
    Writing
    Yoga

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.