[crossword girl summer] themeless #1 and an introduction!

 Hey! Not too sure how to do this whole blog thing, but here we are... 😻 It's crazy to think back to one year ago, when I made my first crosswords. I feel so lucky to have shared my puzzles with so many people this year, and hope I can continue doing that :) I'm making a blog to put my crosswords "out there" without publication. Of course, getting published is fun and validating and a good way to make some extra money, but I also don't want it to be my sole motivation.

I'm somewhat of a perfectionist when it comes to fill, mostly because I am a terrible solver and can't stand including any crosswordese (that would make me irrationally mad to see in someone else's puzzle) in my own puzzles. And that's mostly served me well, but it's also held me back from cluing a handful of puzzles that I felt weren't "good enough" or worthy of finishing. 

Here's what I'm dealing with... 😵

I'm tired of hating disliking every puzzle I make and feeling dread instead of excitement whenever I think about them. I want to embrace the whole "to be cringe is to be free" mindset and find confidence in my voice. Hence, crossword girl summer! #crosswordmaxxing

I'll (ideally) be publishing a themeless every week this summer, no matter how much some aspect of it irks me. And maybe I'll be sharing them into a void because why should I expect anyone to take time out of their day and try some random girl's crosswords... But maybe a person or two will actually enjoy them! 😆

Anyway, sorry for the wall of text. Here's the first themeless, from me 2 u 💝

p.s. if u solve this, 1. ur goated 2. lmk what u think! there is a 100% chance some of my clues are not correct/good

direct link | .puz file