Crossword puzzles are a great way to test your word skills or challenge friends! You can also re-challenge yourself over and over again. Making crosswords is a great activity for almost any type of person. There’s something about sitting in front of a blank piece of paper with a pencil in hand and trying to figure out all the words that fit together to make some kind of cohesive sentence, paragraph, or even entire article!
Crosswords can be made with just about anything that has spaces – pencils, pens, even markers will do the trick. If you’re not sure where to start or need help figuring out how to make an epic crossword puzzle, keep reading! We’ll break down everything you need to know so that you can begin making your own crossword puzzles today.
What Is a Crossword?
A crossword puzzle is a type of word game that requires players to find and correctly place a series of words in a grid. The aim is to complete the puzzle by joining all of the numbered squares with letters or other symbols so that each row, column, and 3×3 box contains every possible letter.
The first crossword appeared in the pages of The New York Times on January 2, 1913. It consisted of 15 clues – 13 words and 2 anagrams.
How to Make A Crossword
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First, you’ll need an idea for the crossword puzzle that you want to create. What are some of the topics or ideas that you would like to have in your puzzle? Then, take a moment and make sure that your start words, middle words, and end words are all clearly defined so that when it comes time to fill in the blanks it will be easy as pie. You can always use Scrabble tiles or a word search as inspiration if you’re feeling stuck! Next, take your time writing out your start words on blank paper or a Word document.
Next step is drawing out your grid. Make sure that your lines are straight and even before proceeding. It doesn’t matter how long it takes – just make sure it’s perfect! Once you have drawn out your grid, from each of the four corners draw a line going across and then down to mark off one row on each side.
Now it’s time to add in the letters of the alphabet! If you don’t know how to spell these letters, there are many websites online that can help with this process such as http://www.xwords.com/ . Remember to keep adding letters until all of those start words are filled in!
After filling out the rest of the grid with letters go ahead and write out all of your answers so they match up with their corresponding letter or numbers on their respective rows and columns (or
Finding Words for a Crossword Puzzle
Before you start making crosswords, you’ll need to come up with a list of words that can be used. If your goal is to make a crossword puzzle about the U.S., consider the following topics:
– States in the United States
– National Parks
– National Geographic destinations
– Science and nature topics
Each one of these topic categories will result in a list of words that could easily be used for your crossword puzzle. Keep in mind that even if you aren’t looking to make a specific type of puzzle, it’s always good practice to keep an idea list around for brainstorming purposes! To make it easier for you to remember what words were on this list, try writing them down somewhere. This will help you keep track of all these options when choosing which word list is best for your next project.
Drawing the Grid
First, you’ll want to draw a grid. In crossword puzzles, the grid is usually nine squares wide by eight squares tall. That means there are 36 squares across and 33 squares down.
To start drawing your crossword grid, take the time to make sure it’s the right size. If you need help creating a grid that fits your puzzle, you can use an online tool like this one!
Once you have your grid drawn correctly, then start drawing in all of the words. Sometimes it helps to copy and paste words into your grid if they’re not going to fit in certain rows or columns. You don’t have to be stuck with just a few words on each row or column though! Crosswords can be made with as many words as you want them to be!
Tips for a Better Crossword Puzzle
Before you even begin, you should make sure that you have everything you need. To start, pick a theme or prompt. If your theme is “random” or “unrelated,” try to make it specific to the kind of crossword puzzle you want to create – a number puzzle, anagrams, anagrams with capitals only, etc. For example:
What is the first word on the list?
What letter comes after G in alphabet?
I am not _____ years old
This is my cat
etc…
Once you know what kind of challenge your puzzle will be facing, write it down and post it somewhere where you can easily see it. Next up is figuring out how many words to use for each row and column. You don’t want too many words per row or too few words per column; just enough that the puzzle still has interesting clues without being so difficult that people become frustrated! Once you have figured out how many words on each side of your puzzle, set aside some time to write these words down in pencil before transferring them into pen/pencil (or whatever medium you are using). This will help save some time later on! Now it’s time for filling in those blanks! Start with the easy ones first – fill in all of the squares that have one word written in them. Then move onto more difficult puzzles by starting with clues like “one who,” “animal,” “bird.”
Conclusion
Crosswords are a great way to get your mind moving, and adding them to your daily routine will help you keep your brain sharp.
But what if you want to make one for a loved one? Or a family member? Or maybe you just want to make one for yourself. In this guide, we’ll show you how to make a crossword puzzle for yourself or for someone else.
