USE OF GHOSTS

21. Each chapter is further governed by certain guiding principles, different for every chapter. These are generated by reference to various iconic figures.

22. These 'ghosts' are symbolic of 25 different people or objects. In most cases these icons are representative of real people, for instance Andy Warhol or Barbara Cartland. They may also represent imaginary or fictional characters, for instance Count Dracula, or groups of people, for instance the Spice Girls. Certain material objects or concepts could also be used, for instance the National Enquirer (a newspaper).

23. These 25 ghosts are chosen by the mutual agreement of both writers at the beginning of the process.

24. To start the game, Player B choses three ghosts from the list. Player A then chooses one of these three as the initial ghost. This is used to generate the first chapter of the work.

25. Player A replaces the chosen ghost with a new one. The writer also replaces one of the other two remaining ghosts with a new one. This list of three ghosts (two new ones, plus one remaining from the initial three) is then transmitted, along with the new chapter, to Player B.

26. The game precedes, with each writer always having three ghosts to choose from, until the final chapters, when less ghosts will be available.

27. Whenever an ghost is used, it is removed from the overall list of 25. In this way, as the work progresses, the number of ghosts falls correspondingly, until, finally, with the writing of the twenty-fifth chapter, all the ghosts are used up.

28. Each individual ghost generates certain creative values or procedures, which the writer uses to produce the corresponding chapter. These values may be based upon either the style or the substance of the person or concept represented. For instance, a Batman ghost could lead to a text based on the visual impact of a comic book's pages; or to the use of bizarre sound effects; or to a narrative based on revenge taken for the murder of a character's parents; or to a text that has a secret identity, and so on. There are many possibilities, from the merest lateral glance, to the ghostly figure actually turning up as a character in the piece. Pure pastiche may also be suitable for a number of chapters, but on the whole, the writers should attempt to avoid such obvious analogies, seeking instead to uncover more interesting relationships between the ghost and the generated text.

29. In addition to the 25 ghosts, each player chooses one extra, to act as a joker or cheat-mode ghost. This joker may be played instead of one of the three ghosts offered to the player. The writer then chooses which of the three offered ghosts the joker replaces, and this ghost is removed from the game. In this way, at all times there are exactly 25 ghosts, one for each chapter.

30. Joker ghosts can be used once only, and must be played before the last row of the grid is reached. For instance, in the 7x7 game, the joker must be played before chapter 42. In the 5x5 game, jokers are to be played before chapter 20. In the 3x3 game, only one joker is available, to be used before chapter 6 is reached. In this shorter game, the joker belongs to the player who first decides to use it.

31. Use of the jokers is entirely at the player's discretion; they do not have to be played.

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