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Constructing => General Discussion => Topic started by: Raymond Hansen on December 26, 2019, 10:57:38 PM
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I finished a fill on a 21X21 Sunday puzzle, then worried that the theme was too early-week for a Sunday. I was curious to see if anyone had any feedback before I started writing 140 clues.
The puzzle has 11 theme words/phrases, the last one also being the revealer. The first 10 theme words/phrases all end in homophones of "hour." (E.g., EISENHOWER, CELL TOWER, SCHOPENHAUER, FIRE POWER, SELF RISING FLOUR, etc). The 11th theme phrase/revealer is ELEVENTH HOUR (clue: Last minute, and description of this entry, given the phonetic endings to the longest across entries).
Would that theme work for a Sunday, given the "eleventh 'hour'" element? Or is it too much of a "same endings" early-week type puzzle?
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Since every publisher except NYT accepts theme queries for Sunday puzzles, I assume that NYT is your target. If you'll review the last few NYT Sundays, you probably notice that the themes are usually more complex than what you've described here. In fact, I'm aware of a couple of editors who don't use rhyme themes at all. The general rule in constructing is that if you don't think a puzzle is good enough, you're probably right.
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Another factor to consider is the incidental fill. If your theme is an entry-level one such as this, your incidental fill should also be very accessible and to the extent possible be devoid of crosswordese and "tough" entries.
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Thanks for the feedback. Yes, going with my gut (this isn't up to par) is good advice!