Attack of the Plot Bunnies

A theme has emerged the last couple of days on the Twitter accounts I follow: plot bunnies leading innocent authors astray. Has anyone studied the habits of plot bunnies? Are they breeding this time of year? A particularly tenacious plot bunny jumped into my life this weekend, too.

I like to think I'm welcoming to plot bunnies. Many have found their way into the scenes of the novel I'm working on, and I maintain a meadow specifically for bunnies to hang out for the annual AO3 Chocolate Box exchange. In order to expand the fandoms I can request and offer in, I've made an effort to watch more movies this year, and to make notes of the bunnies that follow.

For the most part, those bunnies happily accept a gentle push into the meadow where they can frolic until it's Chocolate Box time.

But no, not this bunny.

This bunny emerged this weekend after watching a 1930's screwball comedy musical that caught my eye very late one evening. Or rather, very early one morning.

I have looked this movie up on AO3. It has one fic and one fanvid that's a crossover with several other musicals.

The bunny remains undeterred. It insists that the basic plot of the movie can be adapted for a White Collar fic.

Caffrey Conversation AU, or independent story? Doesn't matter. Either one, the bunny says as it zooms around me.

Set in present day or the 1930s? Hmm. Did the FBI exist back then? Doesn't matter. Either one, the bunny says as it bounces off the walls.

Well, which of the male leads should be played by Peter, and which should be Neal? Doesn't matter. Either one, the bunny says as it lands on my shoulder to munch a carrot very loudly.

As you can tell, the bunny is not being helpful, but it's certainly persistent. My last, best hope is that by writing about the idea in a blog post, the bunny will be appeased and let me return to my novel.

So, this is my life. A fic called Becoming a Plot Bunny that I wrote for the last Chocolate Box is morphing into reality, and now I'm dealing with a wild hare. Does writing about plot bunnies make you more vulnerable to them? If so, I'm doomed.