This blog post on Lloyd Morgan’s Generalisms site, provides a good overview for those interested in getting started in construction. Like Lloyd, I highly recommend starting with the NYT How to Make a Crossword series and Patrick Berry’s $10 Crossword Constructor’s Handbook. (I learned so much and it saved me way more than $10 worth of time!) In addition, I can’t say enough about how useful Jim Horne/Jeff Chen’s XWORD INFO is. (In addition to having all sorts of useful tools. It’s also just really fun to explore if you like data! While you can explore a lot without an account, for me the Finder and word list download options are well worth the $50 annual “Angel” account.)
Construction Software and Apps
Crossword Compiler ($) for Windows is what I use. I subscribe to the “Pro Bundle” version. Alternatively, there is a one-time purchase option. It is regularly updated with new features.
CrossFire ($) is another widely-used paid option with Mac, Linux, and Windows versions.
Free construction apps/software that seem to be in reasonably wide use include Crosshare, Crosserville, and Ingrid. A newer option, which includes the ability to collaborate with others is Crossworthy.
While you can create crosswords (and other puzzles) at Amuse Labs, what I love it for is making my puzzles available to solve online. I love its solving interface on both mobile devices and computers.