I am assuming that you would all like to play some part in this exercise: I hope that the time commitments on you won't prove daunting. I would really like this to be a great team effort. If you don't think you'll be able to sketch out the plan of a chapter (I plan about 25-30 chapters of about 2,500 to 3,000 words each, although some may be more and some less), then let me know now.

Progress reports:

Alpha Day 11 (April 19):

Collection of writing:
You will all have seen Chris's decision on the theme - "Music". This is a good choice, because it is, as he says, a wide subject, and there is an immense scope for developing ideas from this.

I suggest that we all think of what we would like to write over the summer months - short story, article, poem, dialogue - the choice is up to you. There should be a limit on length - not specific, but probably not more than 1,500 for articles and 2,000 for short stories - but good writing doesn't have to be long!

I don't want you to commit yourselves at the moment, but if you have any thoughts in your minds about what sort of contribution you're thinking of making, please let me know. I'd like to think along the lines of putting this into a single section book and sending everyone a copy next September.

Group Novel:
I'm sorry about the delay in sending out Chapters 7-8, but they'll be on the way shortly when I can spend time on my computer - I'm composing this on my laptop away from the internet and my homebase. You will now all have had the revised Chapters 5-6. Sorry about the error in first sending out the incomplete version. I am using two computers, and the up-to-date version was on my laptop. I have finished Chapter 7 and almost finished Chapter 8, and will send them out next week. I've slipped behind my target, but hope that it's only for a week or two, but we'll see.

Alpha Day 9 (March 8):

Collection of writing:
I've asked Chris to make a decision on a theme. Whatever his decision, I know that all of you are able to produce a good piece related to it.

While that decision is being made, it is worth making a comment about the content. I suggest one piece of work each: a short story or article (preferably less that 1,500 but with absolute maximum of 2,000 words): poems not more than 60 lines and any other contribution of not more than two or three pages, but one page of brilliant writing may be worth several less good (they'll all be good, of course).

Does that seem about right?

If we can get this done, I'll try to put them all in a small booklet which I'll send out by post (I have money in hand). However good it is working by email and the internet, it is nice to have a physical reminder of the group.

Group Novel:
I have now completed the first draft of six chapters, and you'll have Chapters 5-6 as soon as I get back from Italy. I'm well into Chapter 7, but time is in scarce supply at the moment. Chapter 8 will see me through to the disappearance of the valuables, so then I'll ask you for your general comments.

Alpha Day 8 (February 15):

Collection of writing:
I would like a decision on the theme, simply because I'd like you all to have firmed up on your contribution by the end of our year in May, although your final version may be later. Ideas seem to have been slow: at my last Circle, it was one thing they did well. They had no shortage of ideas, but even after they'd settled on one, they were much slower in writing to it! Amongst their ideas were: A Fresh Start: Ghosts for Christmas: Goodbye to All That: Traveller's Tales: and Secrets. Surely we can come up with a good idea - for example - Spider! (now that's got real possibilities)

Please help Chris to settle on a theme.

Group Novel:
I have now written the next three chapters and I'm into the sixth. Some of the chapter plans change as I write them, but nothing is really going wrong at the moment, although I'm aware that I want particularly to rewrite Chapter 1 in a more forceful way, and the others will certainly need changes. I'll send the next chapters under A.D. 3.8b in the next few days. Can you hold back on comments for the time being, please.

Alpha Day 7 (January 25):

Collection of writing:
Chris's ideas of a collection needs more input. Please email him about any thoughts you have on a theme. He will be contacting you, but a collection of our writing will be the only group effort this year, because the novel idea will not be complete. If we can fulfil this idea, then I can get them all printed in a small booklet which I can then send to each member: I've got about £100 to use up.

Group Novel:
I have been thinking very hard about the group novel, and how best to organise it. I have taken notice of all the comments, and the difficulty that some of you might have in finding the necessary time using my original approach.

Some of you feel that the plot is too prescriptive, and doesn't allow enough opportunity to express yourselves, and I can see this. But if that freedom of opportunity is given then tying everything together is going to be extremely difficult. In fact, I think that continuity and flow might be completely lost. So I am looking at an alternative way of writing it, but still involving you all.

Alternative method of writing:
What I am now suggesting is that I write the first draft of the whole novel (I am planning on about 30 chapters averaging about 2,500 words each, although varying from 2,000 to 3,000). There will be roughly four phases in the novel occupying some 7 or 8 chapters each.

So what I would like to do is to send copies of each chapter to everyone, but ask a different member in turn for comments on the contents and structure. As I receive the comments back, I will incorporate them as necessary.

Some of you have indicated that you will have more time to give to it than others, so I would like each of them to look at a complete phase (there are four phases in the whole novel), once the chapters have been written and look at them from a copywriting and continuity aspect.

I feel that this approach will provide a better final script. There is so much talent in Alpha, that I am sure if some way can be found of really harnessing it into a novel, we could produce something worthwhile. So I'd like, if possible, for everyone to be prepared to look at and comment on, at least one chapter.

I don't want you to answer or comment on this straight away. I have decided that I am going to put this plot into a novel, so I am prepared to write the first draft anyway. I anticipate producing a chapter every 10 to 15 days. I have almost completed the first two, and I have written a detailed plan for the first 24 chapters (3 of the 4 phases). I will send you the outline and the draft of the first two chapters this weekend under ALPHA DAY 3.7b.

Alpha Day 6 (January 4):

Proposed Novel:
I have actually made progress during the last three weeks (it's been too wet to get in the garden), and I now have two chapters in draft form, and a list of chapter headings. Have a look at them, and I will see how we can best progress from here. I'll send this around as Alpha Day 3.6c probably middle of next week.

Chris's Idea:
Comments about the idea of a collection of stories around a theme seems to have subsided over the holiday period, although you may have applied extreme pressure directly on him. But I shall be interested to hear what the theme is likely to be.

Alpha Day 5 (December 14):

Proposed Novel:
I really hope that by the New Year, you will get progress from me. I will have by then got some of my other commitments out of the way (I have a small photographic exhibition for January, and time presses for that), and I'm preparing for a public lecture in January. And if it's fine I have some garden work to do. But at least, I've now walked my 1,000 miles for the year (I do this every year to keep fit) and I will have spent my time setting up the Christmas Quiz, so I won't have to spend time solving it! So apart from writing a couple of short stories, I will all be ready to give the novel my attention in January!

(The bright-eyed amongst you will note that I haven't mentioned such things as dusting, cleaning, washing, ironing, preparing vegetables and such-like things, but someone will have to do them, and I just don't think I'll have time, do you?)

Chris's Idea:
Chris is no doubt pondering on the comments he's had about the theme. As long as he doesn't suggest Christmas Turkey, I'm reasonably happy. But if you've got any burning first or second thoughts, then why not email them to him.

Alpha Day 4 (November 23):

Sadly the demands on my time have been very heavy of late, and I haven’t been able to make the step forward that I wished to do. However, I hope that by the New Year, I will be able to circulate a couple of chapters and a plan for tackling the whole novel. The target date for a reasonable completion will be May 2008, but there may well still be fine tuning (perhaps a lot) to the manuscript (is it a manuscript still if it’s on a computer?) after that.

Chris’s Idea
Chris recently proposed the idea that we could put together a collection of writing inspired by a specified theme. Because we won’t have any group project otherwise specifically for this year, it’s a worthwhile idea to follow. We have almost £100 in the kitty, and we could use this to put our contributions into a simple booklet form as a record of our work.

Alpha Day 3 (November 2):

Reaction to my proposed novel has been (very) mixed, ranging from great enthusiasm to straight-forward rejection. But they are very welcome, because writing a novel between up to 15 members is a challenge - perhaps a challenge too far.

Looking at my file of comments, I'm trying to pick a path through them.

First, various members have highlighted that this is a difficult task. It is different from the Cliffhanger, or Scribeham, because both of those allowed a certain freedom to write within constraints, but there never was a constraint about how the work should end. For a novel, the plot must be conceived beforehand, and the characters well-defined because they will have to be consistent, and they will occur in different chapters. It would be impossible without that - but I wanted the individual chapters to be written against those constraints. However, if I wanted a chapter, say, with Rib needling the Inspector in his mother's house, with the Inspector showing contempt for Rib, then there is a lot of scope for the writer. It does mean that there will be a lot of "smoothing" to be done at the end, but hopefully it shouldn't change the nature of the contribution. I had never envisaged that everyone would contribute the same amount: I was looking for about a chapter each (out of a possible, say, 32) of some 2,500 words or so. Sometimes it would be a full write-up, but I would also have been happy with a good delineation of how it is to be tackled. Some might want to contribute 2, 3 or 4 chapters, but I wanted everyone to have the chance (but see below).

It seems that any idea of completing the task by next May is remote. I think we must view it over a longer time-scale. I had hoped to outline what I had in mind for the general chapter pattern, and perhaps with more detail for the first chapter or two by now, but a variety of things (other than haggis and Glenmorangie) have transpired to occupy my time. I'll see what I can do by next Alpha day.