A Western University engineering student, Jeffrey Martinovic, has spent many years attempting to get one of his crossword puzzles into the New York Times. As a prestigious publication, he knew The New York Times is read by many, and the crossword puzzles are infamous for their difficulty and intricacy.
According to the paper, the difficulty level of the crossword puzzle increases throughout the week, with the hardest puzzle on Friday, and the easiest on Monday. Martinovic’s puzzle was picked for a Thursday edition, meaning that it is in the higher range of difficulty,
For Martinovic creating crossword puzzles is a passion project. So, when he received the news that his puzzle had been selected, he was extremely pleased.
“Getting the first acceptance email was a fantastic feeling of my hard work paying off,” said Martinovic in a press release
For individuals like Martinovic, creating crossword puzzles is not just a hobby, it’s a personal challenge. Creators need to understand not only the intricacy of creating puzzles but also need to have wide-ranging knowledge of hot topics that can feature in their puzzles. Creating a crossword puzzle requires almost encyclopedic knowledge of many different realms, often including pop culture, sports, news and celebrity interactions.
Previously, Martinovic tried to get his crosswords published in The New York Times. The crossword that was chosen was his 24th submission, after his previous 23 were rejected. However, from these rejections, Martinovic learnt that his crosswords needed to stand out.
“When forming clues for the finished puzzle, it becomes a real challenge when you’ve seen the word ‘era’ 100 times in different puzzles but need to clue it differently for your audience,” Martinovic said in a press release.