how long does it take to create a crossword? part 2

On Dec 7, I asked how long does it take to create a crossword?

My sister and I share the creation of each puzzle. I fill the grid, and Carla writes the clues.

I've timed myself on filling a few grids, and it can vary a lot. To start with, I create an empty grid. If the puzzle is going to be themed, I fill in the theme entries. Then I run Robert T. Morris' crossword filling software on this grid.

In some cases, the software fills the grid completely. In that case, I then have to eyeball the entries, maybe research a word if I don't know it, to make sure that the puzzle is acceptable. "Acceptable" is subjective. For example, I try to avoid having an excessive number of abbreviations as puzzle entries (sometimes this seems to be unavoidable, in particular when filling around a set of themed entries). If there are areas of the puzzle which are not acceptable - which is the usual case - I empty out some of the fill, and rerun the software. Sometimes, I'll edit puzzle entries by hand.

In other cases, the software simply can't fill the grid. In those cases, I'll have to think of a different set of theme entries, or move the entries around in the grid, then run the software again.

All this turns out to be rather time-consuming. So far it seems to take about 3-4 hours for me just to fill the grid - and that's using software to help! In at least one case, however, it only took an hour.

I'm hoping I can speed up this process as I get more experienced with it. I'm truly amazed that some people can create a whole puzzle, including writing the clues, in just 4 hours.