Stages of a Plot Bunny

For many readers, stories may begin with the age-old phrase “Once upon a time,” but for writers, the story takes on a different phrase: “What if?” This question often sparks an idea, or more specifically, feeds a plot bunny.

Such bunnies may vary from story to story and from writer to writer. Just like you have various types of rabbits, from cottontails and lops to the mythical jackrabbit, you also have various types of budding story ideas, from a simple image or a character to plot points or hypothetical questions.

Dear writers, here are just a couple of the stages you can expect from your plot bunnies. Maybe you’ve experienced them all or just a couple. Either way, each stage comes with its own perks and drawbacks. And for my dear readers unfamiliar with the writing process, here’s just a satirical glimpse of what it’s like trying to raise a plot bunny.*

*All bunnies and rabbits hereafter will be referring to the story form rather than actual animals. I’ve never actually owned a rabbit, so all references are speculative and lean towards the writing craft rather than rabbit raising.

Stage 1: Discovering the Bunny

Like some people are drawn to adorable babies, and dog-lovers are drawn to puppies, writers are drawn to plot bunnies. Or rather, they are drawn to us. Unlike puppies, which you’d usually find at the park, out for a walk, or cuddled up on their person’s lap on a train, plot bunnies can be found in the most unlikely of places.

They attack writers in the shower.

They creep up on writers while they’re in the middle of loading the dishwasher.

They especially like to show up whenever the writer should be doing something else, like homework, work, or concentrating on the road so nobody in the car dies.

Not that the plot bunny has ever cared about timing.

When plot bunnies first show up, writers may be overjoyed. “Look at this fluffy, brand-new idea! Isn’t it the best? I must adopt it immediately!”

But if the writer isn’t careful to capture the idea right away, it may disappear.

Stage 2: Absent Bunnies

Sometimes, however, writers go through life without an idea of what to write next.

I’m not just talking about a writer lacking inspiration but an idea or a story in general. Sometimes, a writer finishes a project they’ve spent years pouring their time and effort into only to find that once they’re done, they’re left alone. The characters are gone. The setting is fading from the forefront of the mind. And all the plot bunnies are absent.

As much as I write, I have experienced this a lot. Sometimes, I’ll be in the middle of a project and start to panic when I don’t have a new plot bunny to adopt next.

When I first started blogging, I had maybe two ideas for blog posts. Thank God, I was only posting once a month back then, or this would have been the shortest-lived blog ever. So I talked to one of my vlogger friends, and he gave me one of the best pieces of advice a writer could here, “Just keep writing. The ideas will come.”

Stage 3: Chasing the Bunnies

“You can always edit a bad page. You can’t edit a blank page.” —Jodi Picoult

There are many ways to find inspiration or plot bunnies, but there’s only one guaranteed way to beat writer’s block (if it even exists at all), and that’s to write. Even if you don’t know what to say, write the first thing that comes to your head. Act like you have a plot bunny, and the real plot will bunnies will get jealous.

Okay, so some days are not the best writing days and the bunnies are off annoying some other writer. And that’s okay. Just write! Do it. It’ll be fun!

After all, if you don’t write, you’re more likely to lose motivation. The more you write, even if it stinks, the more ideas and the more plot bunnies you’ll have.

Stage 4: A Plethora of Bunnies

No seriously.

Keep writing and all five-hundred-and-thirty-eight of them will show up and bombard your brain and jump on your current story, demanding your attention.

If you’re anything like me, you’ll want to adopt them all! They’re so pretty. You may want tell all your fellow writers. You may even consider abandoning your current story because how could any writer resist?

Stage 5: Choosing a Bunny

But before you abandon your current rabbit, your work in progress, be sure to take careful consideration. It’s best to know your strengths and your limitations. While some writers can raise multiple bunnies at once, others can only handle one or two. A lot of this knowledge, though, comes from experimentation.

Personally, I can handle two, maybe three bunnies at once and all in different stages.

This blog, Word Storm, is like a mature rabbit. Sometimes, it takes minimal effort, almost like the posts write themselves, while other days, it tries to bite back. Lately, it’s been acting like a rabbit hyped up on coffee. (I’ve had the last three months of posts scheduled because I wrote most of them in January.)

My other bunny would be my latest novel, Just Breathe. As I’m working through yet another round of rewrites, this bunny can’t decide whether it wants to eat carrots or to bite me. Sometimes, I have to set it aside.

But I’m also working on a not-so-secret short story, which is one sleepy and lazy bunny let me tell you! And I’m considering adopting a new bunny when my novel is done. We shall see which one it turns out to be.

Before writers choose a plot bunny, whether they’re abandoning another or not, they should ask themselves how much time and effort they are willing to dedicate to the plot bunny. Will the excitement wear off after the first month? I’ve had a couple plot bunnies that I adopted for National Novel Writing Month that I ended up letting go after draft one. Both these bunnies were ones I adopted on impulse and by the time they made it past the first draft, I didn’t like the way they were turning out.

Choosing the right plot bunny can be difficult, but it’s not impossible.

Stage 6: Full-Grown Rabbit

There are many different types of full-grown rabbits. A blog, for example, may be mature, but it still requires constant attention. A novel, on the other hand, is slightly different. While the release of a mature novel-rabbit means excitement for readers because they get to read another book, it can mean heartbreak and fear for the writer. What if the readers don’t like the novel-rabbit? Why does it have to be so hard to say goodbye?

Sure, writers still have to market their novel-rabbit, but it’s like they’re putting up flyers for potential adoptees. Publishing a novel isn’t just putting a story into the hands of a reader—it’s the writer letting go.

Once writers release their full-grown story out into the world, the cycle begins all over again. Or it jumps around.

Stories are like rabbits after all. It’s not like they’re set in stone.

Let’s chat! Readers, did you know writing had so much to do with rabbits? Writers, what stage of plot bunny is your latest story in? What’s your favorite stage? How many plot bunnies do you typically take care of at once?

***

Similar posts: Dear Microsoft Word, The Proper Care and Feeding of a Writer: Some of the Basics, The Coffee Drinker’s Guide to Writing, and The Tea Drinker’s Guide to Writing

The Potato Chip Plot

Books and films are like meals. Some can be well written by great writers (gourmet chefs) or mediocre writers (short order cooks). While readers may have different tastes, there are many books and stories that are less fulfilling than others. The difference between rich plots and poor ones is like the difference between a twice baked potato and a half empty bag of potato chips.

Below are some indicators of the potato chip plot (aka. plot filler):

1) The snooze button.

In this stage, the brain enters cruise control stage and disengages from the plot. Sometimes the audience falls asleep after the beginning, wakes up for the end, and understands everything that happened. Take for example, the Terminator movies. I did fall asleep to the first two films and woke up for the endings. Yes, everything still made sense.

Of course, there may be some stories where audiences can watch the beginning and the end and understand everything but completely miss the character development in the middle, but said middle should not be all air.

2) Get out of jail free card.

Forget the card. Let’s give the protagonist unlocked doors for no reason and a helicopter to make a great get away. And—by the way—nobody happens to know where it came from. In other words, the protagonists end up in improbable situations with some mysterious advantage that was not built up to. This element is an annoying old technique also known as Deus ex machina.

For example, in The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug, why did there just happen to be a giant statue of rocks sitting in the throne room for decades with gold that was just waiting to be melted into it? In the Battle of Five Armies, where did the mountain goats come from?

3) The treadmill.

The characters are going, going, going. They’re fighting the enemy! And…they’re not getting anywhere. Similar to the snooze button, except the audience is actually following the plot, which is all fluff. The treadmill is often found in battle scenes of action/adventure movies and is usually found in movie adaptations of books. Such scenes extend or add something the author did not originally intend and should have stayed that way. For example, the final half hour of Desolation of Smaug focused more on excellent graphics and less on plot development.

So with all of the plot filler of potato chip plots, here are just a few ingredients found in many rich, dense plots:

1) Don’t blink!

Okay, you can blink. This isn’t Dr. Who. But you do want to pay attention to what’s happening because it will play an important role later. Such detail is often found in the Sherlock Holmes books and in the Sherlock adaptations. While not all plots have to engage the audience like a detective story, every element, line, and character should be necessary. This makes the story dense, like a fulfilling meal that leaves audiences satisfied.

2) Prophecies.

The counteraction to Deus ex machina, foreshadowing acts as a way to hint at what is to come. While it may not always come in the obvious form of an outright prophecy, it prevents audiences from questioning the author’s motives. Instead, it provides audiences with an aha! moment.

3) Layers.

Perhaps one of my preferred elements, character development makes books worth rereading or films re-watching. It’s more than just an added benefit but a necessity to memorable stories. In The Lord of the Rings, such development is abundant from Aragorn to Pippin, and the books themselves have more to offer than the extended film adaptations.

Of course, this list is not an extensive description of plot filler and plot development, but it provides some overview. What are some aspects of plot filler/development that you often notice? Are there any poor/well developed stories that stick out in your mind?

Literary and film references: Orion Pictures’ The Terminator, Warner Bros.’ adaptations of The Hobbit, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes collection, BBC’s Sherlock, and J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy.

The Greatest Literary Thieves

I’ve always enjoyed coming up with new story ideas and pitching them to my friends. The only downside is none of them are actually new. I sometimes get a response like “That’s been done before.” Technically speaking, every story idea has been done before. Although all writers are told to come up with an original story, there are only so few plots structures (about 7) out there.

 

Given the time, I could point out the similarities between Tangled and Phantom of the Opera. They both contain obsessive parent-figures (Mother Gothel and the Phantom) who kidnap a young girls (Rapunzel and Christine) for their own gain while the handsome young men (Flynn and Roule) comes to the rescue. Have I convinced you yet? I’m not saying that these two stories are by any means identical in plot or in theme, but they have similar elements. There are probably other stories I could list that have these elements as well.

 

David Bevington's The Complete Works of Shakespeare

Overall, it’s not the originality of the story but rather how the story is told. Many of the greatest thieves masters of all literature even borrowed from other works when they created their well-known stories. Many of Shakespeare’s plays were based off other plays or works, including As You Like It, Macbeth, and many of his history plays, just to name a few. Other writers such as C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien were influenced by medieval writings or ancient legends in their fiction. Even Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings trilogy had some influences from Shakespeare’s Macbeth.

 

While it may appear that book and film adaptations are merely a recent trend, they are not. Classics borrowed from previous literature and previous literature borrowed from legends and legends borrowed from people. Ultimately, there may be “nothing new under the sun” (Eccl. 1:9), and nearly every writer is a thief in some way, whether it be in plot structures, genres, or characters.

 

So what does this all mean for writers today? No work of fiction can ever be 100 percent original, but some pieces may be stellar, even if they do draw from other works. While writer’s shouldn’t copy all the writing trends or create nothing but fan-fictions hoping to be the next Shakespeare, they may retell a story or make references to past works of literature. No writer is the same, and it is his or her voice and writing style that ultimately determines a lasting piece of literature.
 

What are some of your favorite classics that have influence on or are influenced by other works? Are there any recent books you have read that have a well-written, distinct voice?

 

Literary references: David Bevington’s The Complete Works of Shakespeare, Disney’s Tangled, Gaston Leroux’s Phantom of the Opera, William Shakespeare’s As You Like It and Macbeth, J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings trilogy, and the Holy Bible.