Hooray!

 I have finally found something to use this blog for! 

Actually, I did also think of something to use it for a couple of weeks ago, and started writing what turned into quite a long post, but then changed my mind. 

Last time I was here I described this blog - or at least, what this blog used to be -  as 'a miscellaneous collection of links and music videos and quotes from books and things I felt like writing about, or had been distracted by, or thought were worth sharing.' What I really meant, I  now realise, were things which I found interesting or funny or uplifting - things which made me feel curious, or joyful, or inspired a sense of joy. 

 And then a couple of weeks ago, I found myself about to use it, not for any of those things, but instead to write about a thing which had made me cross. Maybe that's just the inevitable outcome of being ten years older than I was back then?  I don't know.  But it did make me stop and think. 

(The think I was cross about, incidentally, is something I'm still quite cross about, and that doesn't look like it will go away any time soon - so maybe I will get around to finishing writing about it eventually.) 

Anyway. I have a new plan. 

This month I'm taking part in EnigMarch - a daily puzzle design challenge, where each day a prompt is provided (prompts so far have included 'lock', 'rhyme', and 'sharp', among others) and anyone who wants to comes up with some sort of puzzle on that theme, and shares it.  It has been great so far - I've been writing puzzles for about a year or so now, and the  prompts are perfect inspiration. It is fascinating to see what everyone else comes up with, and how differently or similarly our minds work -  there is always a really wide range of ideas. And those fellow designers act as built in community of solvers too, which means getting plenty of feedback, which is really nice. I'm loving ever moment of it, and am already a little sad at the thought that at some point the month will be over. 

Something else I really love is when writers or other creators share a little bit of their creative process - whether through  photos of their notebooks, directors' commentaries on DVDS (are those still even a thing?!) or speaking at events and so on. So, I thought I might do a little series of 'behind the scenes' posts capturing my EnigMarch experience, and more specifically talking a little bit about how the puzzles I'm creating for it were made. 

I have no idea how interesting that will be to anyone, but... let's find out, shall we? ( And let's face it, it has to be better than listening to me moan about an interview with Tony Blair from a few weeks ago, which really did make me VERY CROSS.)