{"id":327,"date":"2015-04-02T11:07:47","date_gmt":"2015-04-02T10:07:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/alphawriters.net\/new\/?p=327"},"modified":"2015-04-02T11:07:47","modified_gmt":"2015-04-02T10:07:47","slug":"alphaday-10-season-xi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alphawriters.net\/new\/alphaday-10-season-xi\/","title":{"rendered":"Alphaday 10 &#8211; Season XI"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Hi Alphas,<\/p>\n<p>Welcome to Alphaday 10, Season XI. Make the most of it, because this is the last Alphaday of the season with a full menu. We\u2019ll be starting \u2013 ever so gently \u2013 the tailing off process and looking forward to the pressure of all those Alpha chores no longer troubling our beauty sleep. Or \u2013 alternatively \u2013 we\u2019ll be worrying about withdrawal symptoms when there aren\u2019t the regular challenges to keep the adrenalin flowing and the writing bug going.<\/p>\n<p>We have ten challenges per season, and the brief for Ch.10 is on today\u2019s menu.<\/p>\n<p>So, as I said, make the most of it, and when that one is out of the way, keep writing. One of the highlights of starting a new season is to hear about our members\u2019 exciting writing adventures during the so-called \u2018the fallow period\u2019.<\/p>\n<p>Today\u2019s agenda has the following treats in store for your benefit and enjoyment:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>This bulletin from me<\/li>\n<li>The Log with your news edited by me<\/li>\n<li>The results of the \u2018NOT A in W\u2019 challenge from Morgen<\/li>\n<li>The collated entries for the \u2018Colour\u2019 challenge from Sue<\/li>\n<li>The brief for challenge 10 from Geoff (already in!)<\/li>\n<li>And, who knows? Suzanne might have another showcase piece for us to enjoy. These have a schedule of their own, depending on the number of contributions received. They can be consulted and commented on at any time, and they can turn up in your in-box when you least expect them to.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>That should be enough to keep you happy over the Easter weekend. And unlike those chocolates, you can indulge in the Alpha treats without moderation.<\/p>\n<p>Let\u2019s not forget to thank all those who contributed to putting the agenda together. I know we tend to take it for granted, and we all enjoy taking part in the challenges, but every item relies the willingness of those concerned to put in the extra effort. So: Thank you!<\/p>\n<p>I really loved Stephen\u2019s expression \u201cThe Alpha-Seltzer effect\u201d. That\u2019s precisely what makes it all so interesting and stimulating, when the packed Alpha agenda stirs up a fizz of comments and points for discussion \u2013 minor and major. There\u2019s no way anyone can guess what comes bubbling up from our routine affairs; but something usually does.<\/p>\n<p>We discussed oxymorons at some length and I\u2019m always fascinated by the way people often either love these stylistic tricks or hate them.<\/p>\n<p>I discovered another real delight along similar lines in my local French weekly newspaper (La Manche Libre, if you really want to know!). There\u2019s a little linguistic column on the back page which I always read with interest. The word put forward in the column was \u201cparaprosdokisme\u201d. Now please, don\u2019t switch off just because I use a French word for once. Translated into plain English the word is \u201cparaprosdokian\u201d\u2026 and that\u2019s much better, isn\u2019t it?<\/p>\n<p>It sounds delightful, round and full-bodied with a touch of tannin. It simply means against (para) expectation (prosdokian). It involves starting a statement and then completing it in an unexpected way. It\u2019s a trick favoured by stand-up comics\u2026 and Winston Churchill amongst others.<\/p>\n<p>For example, \u201cWhere there\u2019s a will, I want to be in it.\u201d Or, \u201cWar doesn\u2019t determine who\u2019s right \u2013 only who\u2019s left.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>We should try it some time to spice up one of our simple 300-word stories; don\u2019t you agree?<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s definitely quite a mouthful of a word, but with an endearing charm of its own, and a new one to me; but perhaps you knew it already?<\/p>\n<p>Christine<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Hi Alphas, Welcome to Alphaday 10, Season XI. Make the most of it, because this is the last Alphaday of the season with a full menu. We\u2019ll be starting \u2013 ever so&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-327","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-alphaday-bulletins"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alphawriters.net\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/327","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alphawriters.net\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alphawriters.net\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alphawriters.net\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alphawriters.net\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=327"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alphawriters.net\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/327\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alphawriters.net\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=327"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alphawriters.net\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=327"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alphawriters.net\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=327"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}