Attack of the Plot Bunnies!

Ah plot bunnies. Furry little creatures that plague writers with their mischief. Although they can be troublesome at times, I do love my plot bunnies dearly.

What Are Plot Bunnies?

According to WikiWrimo, “A plot bunny is a story idea that refuses to go away until it is written.”

The important thing is to not confuse them with plot ninjas, which are plot elements used to increase the action when the story becomes slow. An example of a plot ninja is a bunch of literal ninjas jumping out of closets or windows and attacking your characters.

There are many different kinds of plot bunnies, and some are fairly similar to each other. Let’s take a look at some common ones that have been identified by NaNoWriMo participants.

Common Plot Bunnies

The Lopeared Sitting Around Talking Shorthair

This rabbit comes along when the story slows down. Your characters start talking. What do your characters start talking about? It doesn’t matter. This little bunny will show up sooner or later and whisk the plot away after it’s heard more than its fair share of conversation.

Killer Bunny

You know that moment when you’re typing along and all of a sudden a character that you didn’t mean to kill is dead? That’s the work of the killer bunny. The killer bunny thrives off of the conflict that a dead character produces, and it will usually choose the most inconvenient character to kill.

Magic Bunny

The cause of sudden magic systems that show up in books that should be grounded in reality. The magic of the magic bunny is that scientists become sorcerers, mailmen become mages, and electricians become enchanters. Be careful with this bunny, as it can completely change the genre of your story.

Moving Bunny

This rabbit will keep your characters constantly on the move, never staying in the same place twice. That strange stalker that just chased the main character halfway across London? It was the work of the moving bunny. Be prepared for complaints from the characters who have nowhere to rest and recuperate.

Indiscriminate Bunny

If you have this bunny be prepared for a wave of new ideas. This plot bunny doesn’t discriminate (hence the name) and it will turn anything into an idea for a story. While this may seem like a good thing, it can become annoying quickly as it will never let you settle down to write one of them.

Inappropriate Romance Bunny

This rabbit is fond of taking two characters who could never be together, or should never be together, and making them fall in love. Be prepared for conflict and heaps of drama as characters fight over love and morality because of the inappropriate romance bunny.

Half-Baked Bunny

The producer of brilliant ideas that make your mind turn blank after the halfway point in the story. The creator of concepts that fall a bit short. The half-baked bunny is shy and won’t ever finish an idea for you. Instead it will tell you some of it and see where you end up.

Fluff Bunny

The name says it all. This bunny adds fluff to any story it comes across, and turns things oh-so-sweet. This cute little rabbit will have roses appear by the dozens, with cute handwritten cards attached to them. It will also make things light and happy, so make sure it doesn’t remove too much conflict.

My Plot Bunnies

I’ve been writing for the past few years, and I’ve had a few plot bunnies make their home in my world of words. Over the years I have grown so attached to them, that I’ve given them all names.

Loaf the Half-Baked Bunny

Loaf is my favorite of the plot bunnies, as he’s the originator of almost every idea I have. I’ve gotten quite used to having to come up with endings because of this little guy, and we’ve become quite the team. His ideas are a bit less than half-baked, more like quarter-baked, but that’s alright.

Axe the Killer Bunny

Axe doesn’t strike often, but when he does things get messy. Mainly because it’s usually a relative of one of the main characters, or if I’m incredibly unlucky, a pet. Fortunately he spends most of his time trying to convince me to kill a character during the planning phase, allowing me to take care of major plot problems that can come about because of that.

Brookie the Lopeared Sitting Around Talking Shorthair

At least once during a story Brookie will plant herself beside me and make sure that the characters have a nice long conversation, usually over some snacks or a meal. These conversations can last anywhere between 400 words and 4000 words, and they are incredibly annoying.

Do you have any plot bunnies that constantly take over your writing? Let me know in the comments.