Bunnies of Destiny

The plot bunny.



We all have them. Those furry little creatures who invade our dreams and sometimes waking hours, begging us to pick them up and squeeze their soft little bodies next to our cheeks and nurture them.

Beware the plot bunny.

It can suck you down into the rabbit hole of despair and take you on a trek that even Alice couldn't survive. Taking you away from stories you need to finish and ensuring that you've blown every possible deadline you can imagine. That's its job. To twitch its little nose at you in that oh so cutesie way until you can't ignore it a second longer, but go chasing after it as it races down the cabbage patch of scenes and chapters.

But wait. What is that in between rows of characters? Oh, My God...it's another one!

And then you look, but one bunny has gone the way of the lake and the other has taken off toward the forest. At this point the bunnies can't even be married together. They have taken divergent paths and must be kept separate for all eternity. Damn bunnies. Selfish, mean-spirited....awww look at this baby one right over here. It's just a tiny one. He won't eat much or take up much time. He's probably only good for a novella anyhow.




Beware that cute little bunny most of all. For even the ones who are small and unassuming can grow to the size of War and Peace...or even a series as long as The Wheel of Time.




If a friend offers to give you a bunny, or send one your way- are they really a friend? You might want to ask yourself this question and contemplate it carefully. Once you have a plot bunny infestation, it is very hard to get rid of. Only time hunched over a keyboard and staring at screen will rid you of their multiplying numbers. It's true. I've seen it happen. I've also been a victim. I still am...for I hear one rustling in the corner behind me as I type.

Oh, please merciful God in heaven, let it only be passing through. I have enough of you in my hutch already.

-Kate