Monday, May 7, 2012

Plot Bunny Breeds - The Lopearred Sitting Around Talking Shorthair

A plot bunny is a story idea that refuses to go away until it is written. The term's origin is unknown but is known to predate NaNoWriMo. Because plot bunnies tend to multiply quickly, the term is thought to be related to the oft-quoted John Steinbeck quote about ideas and rabbits. Various writer forums offer several resources for the care and handling of plot bunnies. Unwanted bunnies can be put up for adoption in the Adoption Society forum.

There are various breeds, thousands of them, and many aren't even tied to writing. Let's explore a well known plot bunny that has been positively identified.

The Lopearred Sitting Around Talking Shorthair

Physical Characteristics: Lop ears, short brown/grey flecked fur

How to identify his presence: When your characters inevitably come to a point where the plot simply won't advance, so they sit on a couch/the ground/ a golf cart/ a pirate ship and start talking about nothing in particular. Some couple thousand words later, a plot bunny pops up, grins, and heads off! It can always be discovered in this kind of plot stall, and it's known for waiting until the last possible moment (the moment when you are about to throw your laptop across the table) to come and create a diversion.

Plot Bunny Fields Forever A Study in Plot Bunny Care and Husbandry NaNoWriMo Edition

1 comment:

William Kendall said...

Not to be confused, of course, with their undead equivalent, the zombie plot bunny.