I hit the page 200 mark in the first draft and rolled right on to page 201, 202, 203 before I realized that I’d gone beyond the page where I’d planned to take a break.
The first 200 are now in the hands of my second alpha reader. (The first read 138 late in the summer.) The role of alpha reader #2 is to read the novel-in-progress as if she were reading any other mystery and to answer a few obnoxious questions when she’s done:
Who is behind the mystery?
Do you like the protagonist?
Are the characters too weird or just weird enough?
Is the plot hanging together?
Where do you think it goes next?
In the meantime, I’m celebrating hitting the 200+ page by working on short stories, blog posts and chewing on my metaphorical nails (the real ones are short for the keyboard).
Any other celebratory suggestions?
lol – your celebrations sound good to me. Congratulations! And a question: do you plot or fly by the seat of your pants?
I am attempting to PLOT but my natural inclination is to write by the seat of my pants. Right now, I’m plotting ACT III of the story. Although I will admit that the draft so far is a combination of spontaneous inspiration and plotted story.