Beginner constructors would do benefit from reading the advice offered by the pros in the crossword business. Over the last few years there have been some very helpful posts on the cruciverb-l mailing list.

Nancy Salomon's "Constructing Tip's" is probably the most straightforward and important collection of tips that any new (and not-so-new) constructor can possibly read.

• *** Constructing Tips, Nancy Salomon

  Here a few other great blurbs:

• Theme Advice for Novices, Nancy Salomon

• Advice on Themes, Roy Leban

• Theme Entries, Nancy Salomon

• Legitimizing Entries, Bob Klahn

• Letting Go, Nancy Salomon

• Don't Try to Get Away With Things, Nelson Hardy

• Beware the Lure of High-Scrabble-Count Letters, Nancy Salomon

• Quote Themes, Rich Norris

• A Few Words About Blocks, Roy Leban

• Some Thoughts on Word Lists , Nancy Salomon

• Sparkle, by Manny Nosowsky

• Cluing, Mel Rosen et al

• Advicing on Making 21x21 Puzzles, Nancy Salomon

• Why Editors Change Clues, Nancy Salomon

• Puns in Crosswords, Nancy Salomon

• A Solver's Perspective, Jamie Hall