Hi Alphas,
Welcome to Alphaday 3, Season XVIII. The season is now in full flow with all activities up and running. From now on you’ll be able to benefit from our combined contributions as we share our widely differing takes on how best to improve our writing. We have such a wealth of experience between us, and it’s very satisfying to be able to share it with likeminded writing enthusiasts.
The Alpha team has been busy preparing today’s agenda for us all. This willing collaboration which involves the entire group contributing to the various activities is one of our main strengths as a group, in my opinion.
Alphaday 3, Season XVIII agenda:
- This bulletin from me
- The results and feedback from the ‘internal monologue’ challenge from Maria
- The collated entries for the ‘story in reverse’ challenge from Phil
- A call for entries for The Open Page, edition 1, season XVIII, from Sarah
- A call for Log contributions from Phil
This will all pop into your inbox in the course of the day and you have all the time until next Alphaday to take it in and react to the many treats provided.
I have no particular Alpha News to report, but I do hope that those of you who’re going through a tricky patch right now – be it moving house or troublesome health issues – will soon come out of it with a fresh urge to immerse yourselves fully in Alpha again.
General news … Thick Skin
I came across an odd little news item recently which I decided to share with you, partly because I thought it quite funny, and partly because it happened to coincide with us exposing our precious challenge entries to the first full-throated, honest and open group feedback of this season. Some of us may need this reminder that a tough, thick skin can come in handy – although, of course, all feedback is meant to be helpful.
Sebastian Faulks has apparently sworn that he will never again – ever – write a physical description of a woman in his novels. This follows questioning from readers re. something he wrote in his novel Paris Echo. Faulks adamantly claims that his decision is a carefully considered one, and not at all a sulky or temper tantrum reaction. Well, that’s all right, then.
I can understand that – especially in this gender-sensitive era – a physical description of a woman that focuses on tits, hips and bum can cause serious offense – even to a purely fictitious lady.
Nor is it the first time Sebastian Faulks has got himself into trouble. In 1998 he had the dubious honour of winning the Literary Review’s annual Award for Bad Sex in Fiction (re. a passage in Charlotte Gray). Ooh! Ouch! Painful, eh?
I admire Sebastian Faulks. I prefer his novel Human Traces to the two best-sellers, Charlotte Gray and The Girl at the Lion d’Or. I thought those two female protagonists had some annoying Penelope / Griselda symptoms. But that may just be me.
The moral of this story is that even well-meant, gentle criticism can hurt unless you’ve developed a suitably thick skin.
Enjoy the feedback!
Christine