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Acrostics Tutorial, page 4 Since we know we are doing a puzzle about instructions for doing acrostic puzzles, and seeing the ZZL in the second word, it seems logical to fill in the first two words: CROSTIC PUZZLES. We might guess that the third word, C_NSI__ should be CONSIST, in which case the two-letter word after that is probably OF. On the fourth line, ___WERS certainly looks like ANSWERS. And toward the bottom, _PP_AR looks like APPEAR. And so it goes. Filling in answers helps us guess words in the quote, and filling in words in the quote helps us guess the answers. Now let's try another angle: the author and title in the first column of the answers. The author's name starts with: MO__TF. Wait a minute -- that's me! I wrote this quote. The first column must read Mountford, How To Do Crostics. Of course, it's not always that easy, but sometimes the author or the name of the work become obvious. This helps greatly in finishing the puzzle, because it lets you fill the first letter of each answer. Sometimes the author appears as both first and last name, sometimes an initial and last name, and sometimes, as in this case, last name only. It depends on the length of the name and the title. Continue