Plot, Plot, Plot Your Book...

Yesterday was a day dedicated, mostly, to plotting the second Ani'mari Saga novel... which I am pleased to say is coming along nicely. Typically, I don't outline my novels. In fact, I attempted to with Ephemeral, and I failed miserably. I followed the basic plot, and betrayed the rest of the outline and just went with what felt right. Letting the characters lead the story progression has always been the way I have written, and I am comfortable with it. However, my husband and I sat down for a few hours here and there and discussed what should occur in the second book, and it gave me a lot of ideas on where to go with the story based on ideas I had already established after finishing Ephemeral. I think there are currently nine chapters with a basic outline for me to follow, and I can almost guarantee I'm going to wind up veering off the path here and there along the way. There are a lot of things that need to happen in the sequel, and I think it will be a lot of fun to write... which I intend to start focusing on this upcoming week, after the holiday.

Speaking of holidays, I replaced last year's Christmas tree today. My family and I picked out a nice six-foot  artificial tree last November, decked it out with multi-colored shatterproof ornaments, and covered it in every suggested cat deterrent available. Alas, none of that worked, and we ended up with broken limbs where the cats decided they should sleep, and the once beautiful tree became an unpleasant mess. Instead of attempting to put that one up again this year, I decided I wanted a new one. Fortunately, there is room right by a wide window in the office that is fitting for a Christmas tree and the room has a door; therefore, no kitties to destroy the festive decor! My husband and I will be putting that up this weekend. I'm currently trying to decide what color ornaments I want on the tree. It is pre-lit with LED multi-colored lights, but part of me is leaning toward silver and blue ornaments, while another part worries that those will clash with the rainbow lights... I initially considered a white tree with light purple decorations, but decided on a much nicer looking green tree. Browsing Google images for ideas isn't helping, either.

I hope you all have a wonderful holiday this Thursday, and if you decide to brave the Black Friday sales, be safe!