A personalised crossword makes a really memorable gift for a puzzle lover. Here is a little bit of behind-the-scenes info about how I approach my gift crosswords.
As a professional crossword writer, I have constructed puzzles for birthdays, anniversaries, weddings, retirements and even funerals. By the end of every project I feel like I know the subject like my own family member, because of all the time I’ve spent wordplaying their with life’s glossary.
Whether it’s your maths teacher’s retirement or your bestie’s hen’s night in the Barossa, I always like to start with long list of words about your special person. I need to know everything about them - their favourite movie, the street they grew up on, their middle name, star sign, allergies, everything!
The more words I have, the better chance I have at creating a dense puzzle grid with plenty of intersecting letters, which makes it easier to solve. After all, the last thing you want is a recipient who can’t solve a puzzle about themself!
I have a ”brainstorming template” I give out to help dream up the list of answers. Some of the things that end up on the word list are hilarious, bizarre and always pretty personal!
Once I get my hands on the information, I can expand on the word list further. For example if I know the subject is a huge tennis fan then I can use words like ACE, LOB or LET to connect difficult parts of the grid.
By the time I’ve created a crossword for a seventieth birthday, for example, I’ve usually experienced the highs and lows of a lifetime. My subjects have served in the army, beaten cancer, raised families, volunteered in Africa, divorced, run triathlons… you name it, I’ve clued it. It’s such an intimate process that I always feel blessed to be involved in creating such a profound present. And it’s made even better when I get messages from the recipient afterwards about how much they enjoyed it.
It’s always an in-depth task to make one of these puzzles, but I have a range of gift crosswords to suit various budgets. For the finished product I can lay out the puzzle in the variou styles of well-known newspapers, right down to the font.
Do you know someone who might be chuffed by a crossword all about how special they are? Email LR@LRLR.com.au and let’s make their day! Check out the gallery of my personalised puzzles here.
