by Joanne Shwed

Joanne Shwed working with an audience to create a crossword puzzle at Jigsaw Java in Redwood City. Photo courtesy of Thomas A. Ekkens.

I stood before the audience at Jigsaw Java in Redwood City and asked, “Can anyone give me an eight-letter word?”

“You mean any eight-letter word?”

“Yes. Just pick one — out of the air.”

Someone shouted, “I-L-L-S-P-E-N-T,” and I wrote it in the appropriate space on the blank crossword puzzle I created and drew on a large whiteboard.

I heard a woman whisper, “Are we talking about your childhood?” We all laughed.

I continued, “Now, give me a four-letter word where the third letter is “I.”

“I-R-I-S!”

Little by little, word by word, this audience of mostly seniors worked with me to fill in the puzzle. I wondered out loud, “Shall we continue, or have you had enough?”

“Yes, let’s go on!” they eagerly replied.

Joanne Shwed with finished puzzle. Photo courtesy of Thomas A. Ekkens.

After about an hour, we finished the puzzle — with 58 “across” and 52 “down” words — and the group burst into applause. Their faces reflected pride, joy and intellectual stimulation — feelings that had possibly been missing from their lives. One woman was about 80 years old and blind, but she was the best in the bunch; I watched in fascination because she kept it all in her head.

As long as I can remember, my favorite hobby has been making crossword puzzles. I enjoy every aspect of them: designing symmetrical grids, filling in words, and making up clues. The idea to publish a puzzle book began at an outdoor music festival while I was listening to the music and working on a puzzle. Before long, a crowd gathered, asked me questions about what I was doing, and wanted to help!

In 2004, I created and published Backpocket Crosswords: Handmade Puzzles — a collection of 24 handmade (not computer-generated) crossword puzzles with common words and user-friendly clues. During the production of this book, I happily cruised the Internet to craft clues, and generated an index to check that no clue was repeated, even though the same word may have been used in several puzzles.

I dedicated the puzzle book to — and always keep a copy in — the Radiology Oncology Department at Seton Medical Center in Daly City. While my husband Tom and I waited for his radiation treatments, we — and others in the waiting room — worked on the clues, which seemed to calm our nerves, raise our spirits, and even get a couple of laughs.

When I give my crossword puzzle demonstrations, like the one at Jigsaw Java, I see the pride light up in the eyes of my audience. They tell me they never thought they could actually make a puzzle, but the proof is on the whiteboard in front of them.

Joanne Shwed is an editor and a book designer. Her Pacifica company, Backspace Ink, helps authors organize and present their ideas — both personal and professional — in a book. To learn more about her business, or to order Backpocket Crosswords: Handmade Puzzles, please visit her Web site at www.backspaceink.com. If you want to host a crossword puzzle demonstration, please contact Shwed at joski@backspaceink.com or call 650-355-4640.