How to Solve a Crostics Puzzle: To start solving, fill in as many of the answers to the CLUES as you can on the dashes in the WORDS column, one letter per dash. Next, start filling in the diagram by transferring the letters of your WORDS into the correspondingly numbered squares in the diagram. You need only a few answer WORDS to start filling in the diagram. Work back and forth between the WORDS column and the diagram until both are completed. In the diagram, a black square indicates the end of a word. Words starting at the end of a line may continue to the nest line. HINTS FOR SOLVING: If a clue is plural, the answer probably ends in S. If the CLUE is in the past tense, the answer probably ends in ED. Single letter words in the quotation are usually A or I. Look for THE and AND to start forming in the quotation. When you have filled in some of the answer WORDS, read their first letters and try to fill in the missing letters of the authors name and the title of their work.