I thought I might try to write a blog on the first day of the New Year, although I would never be so foolish as to make any daft New Year Resolutions about a blog a day or anything like that. A quick update as to where I am with the course is probably the best I can do at the moment.

I submitted TMA02 ages ago, although the cut off date is still a few days away. I thought would get loads done over Christmas with the stressful requirement of 02 nicely tucked away, but neglected to remember in my excitement about the course just how time draining the whole Christmas thing is in our house. Too many visitors, too many meals to prepare and tidy up, too much noise and festive mayhem for me to get any real quiet time to look at my books, do any reading, or thinking or revision. Only yesterday and a bit of today has allowed me some quality time to dip into the Workbook and read some of the early chapters and sub headings and get something of a feel for this part of A215. So I feel a little more buoyed up about writing a blog too, since I have done a little work at last.

At the time of writing this blog entry I have had a go at the first few exercises, looking at the photographs and trying to write something creative and interesting about the lady with the pram and the young child who is hanging onto the side as it's been wheeled along. I can't remember what I wrote now, but I seem to recall I assumed that the photographer was the ladies husband and that this was essentially a family snap, albeit that the father was advanced enough in the field to be something of a professional given that cameras were probably quite rare at that time. For the piece I entered his subsequent internalized thoughts about his wife and his two children - taking time to give all the characters including the baby in the pram, something of a story. I should add that the father's account was from twenty plus years later.

I didn't work particularly hard on this exercise, but produced a short piece of work, which was handy since I had to refer to it a few times again afterwards as the exercises progressed. (Door bell and car doors, bugger, to be continued...)

Back sooner than I thought. Lost my thread a bit so I shall free write the rest of this blog for now. Going through the Drafting section I like the idea of the term 'first inkling'. This might seem unimportant given that it's mentioned only in passing - but for me it has provided a starting point because believe me I know nothing of writing poetry. Why would you write a poem? How would you start? How would it be constructed? I'm really at the beginning like most on this course, so the notion of 'first inkling' suggests to me that before you even begin to sit down and write a poem you must first get a metaphorical jab in the ribs that provides that first inkling. And that inkling probably comes courtesy of something that has kicked off an emotion in you, sadness, interest, glee something like that, which could be described as your first inkling, your first unexpected desire to write something down in a sad, witty or profound way.

The other day I was in London visiting the Museum of London's Dickens exhibition. The exhibition wasn't all that great but the museum was. One thing I remember above all else there was the court reports from the 1800s about public executions. One particular report concerned the trial of one Margaret Waters a 34 year old spinster who became known as one of several baby farmers predominantly women, who on payment promised to make unwanted babies disappear. The system typically was that these baby farmers would promise new lives for these unwanted children finding them good homes and better prospects. In reality, these baby farmers were just killing them off and pocketing the money. The consequence being that dead babies were being found all over the place, in sewers, down wells, in ditches etc. Some of these women were caught and tried for murder and Margaret Waters was one of them. The court report is quite detailed and includes her specific crimes, her attitude when caught, the things she said in gaol, her performance on the gallows and the hanging itself. Perversely she didn't plead guilty except to say that both she and the babies were innocent before fainting as she approached the rope and having to be revived before it was slung around her neck. And a 'first inkling' for a poem from this total amateur was born.

Without a 'first inkling' I would never write a poem and I haven't written one yet, but I'm beginning to see how the motivation and inspiration thing might work, why a poet would sit down and say to himself or herself, I think I might write a poem about this or that because today something made me think.

Unlike the fiction section which felt a little more natural I think I'm going to have to blog quite a lot to help chivvy myself along. When blogs were first talked about at the beginning of this course I strained to write anything and only did it because it felt right to have a go as this was after all 'a writing course.' But I think throughout this poetry section I will much more blog prolific as I believe to write down my thoughts here might just help me rub along.