Today we welcome constructor Barbara Lin (she/her). Barb lives outside of Philadelphia, PA, where she dabbles in gardening and excels in computer engineering.
Barb! Thank you for making time to talk with me! Let’s start with your crossword origin story. How did you get into crosswords?
I used to solve the Sunday New York Times on paper most weekends. For Christmas 2015, my kids gave me a NYT Games subscription and I started solving daily online. After a while, I began to think that I might like to try to construct. As part of a New Year’s resolution in 2019, I bought myself software and a wordlist. My first published puzzle was in the Wall Street Journal later that year.
So you started constructing as a New Year’s resolution! Do you still need a resolution to get yourself to create crosswords?
No, now it’s just a part of my life! I’ve always liked word puzzles, and constructing is just another kind of word puzzle – trying to figure out how the words fit together and coming up with clues that are appropriately tricky for the type of puzzle it is. It’s just fun to do. It used to be a solo endeavor for me, but recently I’ve been mentoring and collaborating with several people. Who knew that crossword construction could be a social activity?!
Yes! That’s something I love about crosswords, too! The people I’ve met in the community are so kind and smart and funny. And then you start to recognize their names, which adds to the fun of solving a puzzle.
The first thing I do when I open a puzzle is look at the byline. It’s fun to think, “I know that person, I’ve met them!”
When you open a puzzle, whose byline are you excited to see?
There are so many constructors whose work I enjoy. A couple stand out: Robyn Weintraub’s puzzles always make me happy; Sarah Sinclair’s puzzles have a good chance of doing something wildly creative that amazes me.
What is your approach to collaboration?
Collaboration has added a richness to what was once a solitary hobby. I’ve really enjoyed mentoring some newer constructors which has led to some collaborations. I have also been collaborating with a number of more established constructors, and each one leads to a friendly relationship, whether I’ve met the person in real life or just exchanged emails. I’ll always want to do some solo crosswords, but I’m surprised by how social creating crosswords can be.
What kind of crosswords do you enjoy making?
I started out making only themed puzzles. At some point I got interested in themelesses as well. When I don’t have good ideas for themes, I work on another themeless, because I always have a list of interesting phrases to seed them with.
Where are you published?
In the last couple of years, I’ve had puzzles in NYT, Fireball, LAT, AVCX, and The New Yorker.
Does your husband solve your puzzles? How did you two meet?
In my first job out of college, a coworker invited me to a party and that’s where I met Ken (my husband). As far as Ken solving, he is my biggest fan and is so proud of me, but his brain doesn’t work that way; he’s not a crossword person. He’s very artistic and prefers visual puzzles.
What about your kids – do they solve your puzzles?
Yes! My younger son solves the NYT puzzle every day, so he solves all my puzzles. Actually, he and I compete in the Pairs division in Boswords. My older son and his wife were never too big into puzzles, but when I had my first crossword published, they started practicing so that they could solve mine. Now they solve other puzzles as well as all of mine.
Aw, that’s so sweet! They must be proud of you. When you and your younger son solve as a pairs team, do you do it together or virtually?
We use Google Meet and we each start on our own grid; I start on the bottom half, and he starts on the top. We switch if we get stuck and then we work on the last part together. We’ve been solving pairs with Boswords pretty much since it started.
What a great way to connect with your son! Switching gears a bit, will you tell us about your day job?
My degree is in computer engineering. A couple of years ago, I moved to part time to transition into retirement (which somehow has not seemed to give me any more time to write crosswords). In my last job, I spent a lot of time doing chip design. Now, I work at a company that does fiber optic networking.
How did you get into that line of work?
When I was in high school, I knew that I wanted to do something with computers. My dad thought that I should be a business major, not a computer science major. I compromised and decided to try being a computer engineer. I took my first computer engineering course and loved it. Later in my studies, we had a course where we designed a small processor and I was like, “Wow, this is what I want to do.”
Do you find that crossword construction allows you to exercise different parts of your brain than computer engineering, or is there a lot of overlap?
With engineering, you need a kind of spatial awareness, which does help with crossword construction. Also, I was the weird engineer who took literature classes for fun, so having both sides has definitely helped.
I bet! What else do you enjoy doing in your free time?
I enjoy hiking, playing in my garden, and traveling. I volunteer at a local arboretum.
Ooh, what do you grow in your garden? (I did landscape work in the Parks Department for five summers, which has made me extra-curious about the plants that people grow.)
I grow a lot of perennial flowers. The last few years, I’ve also started planting tomatoes in the spring. My husband kids me that I’m a tomato snob… but summer, garden-fresh tomatoes are so good! As a part of the joke, he buys me heirloom tomato seeds for Christmas. I grow the seeds with a grow-light in my office, and once they’re ready, I plant them in my garden. I usually start them too soon and they get leggy, but this year I think I did okay!
What’s one thing (other than your tomato snobbery 😉) that DCL readers would be surprised to learn about you?
Even though I’ve had some success, I still get nervous for every submission. I have to psych myself up to press the “Send” button. Imposter syndrome is real.
Oof, so relatable! In your case, imposter syndrome be darned! You’re quite an accomplished constructor. Would you mind sharing some of your greatest hits with us?
Asking about my favorite puzzles is a little like asking about my favorite child. That said, I’ll list a few I really like. Since DCL’s mission is to open people’s eyes to the richness of puzzles out there, I’ll cut down my list by not listing any of my NYT puzzles. (I do like my NYTs though.)
Repeat Business (Fireball, 4/5/2023, subscription required)
Themeless (LA Times, 10/28/2023)
Keep the Change (Inkubator, 6/22/2021)
Look Both Ways (New Yorker, 12/30/2024)
Parental Playlist (Grids for Kids puzzle pack, donation required)
That Inkubator puzzle was a real delight. I felt very seen (somewhat unfortunately … iykyk) but in a really fun way. What advice would you give to new or aspiring constructors?
Slow down. Take the time to brainstorm potential theme entries before starting to fill a grid so that you can pick the best theme entries, not the first ones that fit. After filling the grid, look for weak points and try to make it stronger; this may require starting over. Take time to write lively creative clues.
What piece of advice have you received that you found useful?
I remember when I first started, I read everything I could find. I read something (I believe from Brad Wilber) saying something like: It’s better to take the extra effort to come up with good clues. Even if the editor ends up changing your clues, it’s easier for them to make a tricky clue a little friendlier than to find a way to make a boring clue appropriately tricky.
Good advice, thanks for sharing it! So, would you rather clue for an easier puzzle or harder one?
When I started out, writing clues was my favorite part. Now, I like it when it’s done! It’s hard to come up with clues that I’m happy with, so it takes me forever to clue a puzzle.
What was it like for you when you had to clue three puzzles for Boswords?
I actually had a lot of fun with that because I enjoyed trying to think of three different ways to think about each entry. That wasn’t as hard as some of the other puzzles I’ve made. I guess I like cluing the harder ones because you can be creative in trying to be tricky.
What about any favorite crossword resources to shout out?
Ingrid: The fill engine is so much better than what I used before, and it has features that help me make better fill.
XWord Info: I use their Finder constantly.
Matthew Stock’s shared spreadsheet about venues: All the important information in one place!
For the final part of the interview, I have a handful of rapid-fire questions for you. Don’t overthink them!
I overthink everything!
Ha! I know… we all do! I feel like it’s impossible to be a crossword constructor and not overthink things.
Favorite place to travel?
Any national park.
Go-to emoji?
The heart emoji, because I’m usually texting with my family.
Best meal you’ve ever had?
Oh, in Italy, in Modena, it was a small, family restaurant and everything was just so good – the soup, the pasta, the bread, the wine…
I can tell you loved it. You were beaming as you talked about that meal.
Solving or constructing?
Both!
Favorite clue you’ve written?
In my one AVCX puzzle, I had KEN in the grid. I had a chance to break the fourth wall and wrote the clue [My husband (yes, we’ve heard every joke about last summer’s hit movie)]. We’ve always had fun with the Barbie and Ken thing, and that was a humorous way to get him in the puzzle in a way that people who didn’t know him could still figure out.
Last, but definitely not least – best tomatoes to eat?
The small ones you can pop into your mouth right off the vine.
❤️ ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ ❤️
This interview has been edited and condensed.
Jess Rucks is a therapist and crossword constructor. She is happy to combine her love of learning about others with her love of crosswords for DCL’s Constructor Spotlight.
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