Jennifer Hoelzer author page
1 puzzle by Jennifer Hoelzer
with Constructor comments
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Shortly after I started constructing, I found myself constantly coming up with clues for words I'd encounter throughout the day. I'd see a MIME and think, "He's ‘not one to talk.'" Or I'd be driving on a CUL DE SAC when a voice would pop in my head to say, "You know, this is ‘not a through street.'" Then one day it hit me that the clues inside my head always seemed to begin with the word "not," which is when I found myself wondering if I could construct a puzzle in which all of the Across clues began with the word "not."
It wasn't easy, at least not for the beginning constructor that I was. I spent a couple hundred hours filling a least a dozen iterations of this puzzle until I came up with a version that I thought might be elegant enough for the New York Times…then the Times came back with a few notes that required me to start all over again. But all that work NOT only earned me my NYT debut, (I am pinching myself) I can confidently say it made me a better constructor.
Anyway, I'm still sad that I couldn't get CUL DE SAC to work (I really tried), but I hope my puzzle gives everyone at least a few smiles. And yes, I owe XWord Info a big thank you for a few of my "nots." (The clue search option was clutch.)