Plot Bunnies

[Fyri]

I can't remember where I first heard the term, but I think it was on this site.

Plot bunnies, from what I remember, are like little sparks of ideas for plots or concepts that you don't really have time or motivation to fully develop. Wherever I was when I first learned the term, they were sharing plot bunnies like candy, allowing anyone to take the plot and develop it as their own as they saw fit.

Wanna share any of yours?

The one I just saw was "A team of people named Mackenzie, but all spelled in different ways" because I work in a high school and I swear we have at least five people with the name, but spelled McKenzie, MaKenzye, Makenzi, Mackenzee, Mckenzy, and so on. Idk, maybe this could be a comedy skit or something like the whole world is now variously named Muh'Kensieieie and you have to deal with it.

 

[MSadiq]

Yours reminds me of Ed, Edd, and Eddy, lol.

I have a couple of my own.

1- A people trapped in a lush grotto that supports life with a monster that's very sensitive to sound, which they can't kill nor escape, but, somehow, they survive, and after a few generations, they lost their language and purely communicate through signs. Some guy stumbles upon and tries to communicate with them to help them escape or kill the monster.

2- In the 1960s, a young date farmer kills his father in spite. He prevented him from getting an educated in the time when urbanization was taking over and framing dying, leaving them destitute. Now he's haunted every night by a cat and a donkey that can speak and bring him into a realm between life and death where specters try to kill him. It won't stop until he repents and confess to people that his father didn't go missing, but he killed him and hid his corpse.

 

[Fyri]

I love it. The first one is like a different angle of "A Quiet Place"!

The second one is interesting specifically because... Why a cat and donkey specifically? I love it. XD

 

[MSadiq]

.. Why a cat and donkey specifically?

It's in reference to the young man. He pretends to be a good son to his deceased father in front of other people to gain sympathy, just like how cat cuddles up to you when it wants something. As for the donkey, in my mind, he was offered an education by clergyman, so he could read and write, which at the time, the 60s, could do you much good in the GCC. You can be a secretary, which is a job that made a decent amount. But he instead chose to bury himself and self-pity and not see the opportunity, how the knowledge of writing and reading could make his life much better, which reminds me of a part of a Quranic verse, which, roughly, means "their likeness is that of a donkey which carries books." A donkey carrying books on its back is carry something really precious, but it can't make use of it, but he chose to be that donkey.

 

[Fyri]

Oh! Your bunny is much more developed than I expected! Sounds like you've got the story all fleshed out already!

 

[pmmg]

I don't know where I encountered the term first either, but its been around for a long while.

I am pretty focused at this point on my current WIP, and I kill those little bunnies pretty ruthlessly. Other than others putting up prompts, I don't need these distractions. While I have gotten them at times, I cant bring any immediately to mind.

 

[JBCrowson]

I get plenty popping into my head for in-world ideas for events historical, backstories for minor characters and so on. One or two have hopped over and nibbled their way into the main plot arcs for later in the series. As an example:

A man had a father possessed (in both senses) of a powerful magical sword. He had an opportunity to take it from his father but did not. The father became a tyrant due to the power of the sword, killing thousands of people. When his father is slain he inherits the sword but is afraid to take it even to destroy it, fearing becoming like his father. He trains his two children, the older to be mean to the younger; the younger to be resilient to the meanness, repeatedly pitting them against each other until they reach adulthood. The younger he pushes into taking the sword, they feel the temptation to kill their sibling, resist and finally destroy the cursed blade.

 

[Naruzeldamaster]

I've learned to ignore most of my plot bunnies. Quite a few of them are too 'goofy' even for me to rework into a proper idea.
There are a couple that I have on the backburner 'cooking' (so they 'arent' plot bunnies) but I'm not allowed to officially work on them until I finish one of my stories I'm currently working on.

One of my discord buddies shared one of his plot bunnies. 'what if it was a martial arts story where all the magical attacks were manifested by vocalizing mouth sounds' I gave him a pat on the back for creativity and responded 'yep, that sounds like a running on fumes at 4 AM idea' lol

 

[ThinkerX]

Most of my plot bunnies grew into stories and books of their own.

 

[Fyri]

I also have had a bunny for a while for a story about the best friend of The Chosen One. Thought it would be a cool and unique perspective, but then also maybe boring if the best friend MC isn't the "Main character of their own story" sort of thing. I think it would depend on how the concept is executed. Then, recently I read The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller with one of my book clubs, and it is basically that!

 

[Naruzeldamaster]

I also have had a bunny for a while for a story about the best friend of The Chosen One. Thought it would be a cool and unique perspective, but then also maybe boring if the best friend MC isn't the "Main character of their own story" sort of thing. I think it would depend on how the concept is executed. Then, recently I read The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller with one of my book clubs, and it is basically that!

I feel like it's a common enough plot thread that you could do just about anything with that one.
Just don't pull a 'the friend gets jealous of chosen one and turns evil as a result' move because literally every instance of this I've seen does this.
Granted I've only seen a few proper instances but still.

 

[Fyri]

I feel like it's a common enough plot thread that you could do just about anything with that one.
Just don't pull a 'the friend gets jealous of chosen one and turns evil as a result' move because literally every instance of this I've seen does this.
Granted I've only seen a few proper instances but still.

I like the revelation that it could be a whole trope in itself.

 

[Naruzeldamaster]

I like the revelation that it could be a whole trope in itself.

One of my plot bunnies plays with this trope in a fun way.

It was a classic 'party of 4 adventurers' kind of story where the dark mage betrays his friends (He's a super cynical old koot who's driven to paranoia about everything and frequently gets annoyed at his friends 'incompetence' because of the plot) and becomes a sort of 'secondary' dark lord type enemy for much of the story.

It's found out later that this was part of his plan to weaken the ultimate dark lord. He was stealing the dark lord's magic bit by bit and having the party defeat greater and greater foes (Thus making them stronger and the dark lord slowly weaker). It's also found out that the Dark Lord never had control over him in the first place. Bro had fourth wall breaking knowledge of every 'plot twist' that could occur and decided to execute his own. He even goes so far as to properly mock the dark lord for thinking he would play by 'the usual' rules.

Overall I thought the story was too "self aware" for too many folks to enjoy it. (Unless they had a similar sense of humor to me) Granted this kind of parody CAN work (See Space Balls and the many Kids Next Door episodes that parody star wars ) but I don't think my writing chops are up to quite that caliber yet.

 

[MSadiq]

I also have had a bunny for a while for a story about the best friend of The Chosen One. Thought it would be a cool and unique perspective, but then also maybe boring if the best friend MC isn't the "Main character of their own story" sort of thing. I think it would depend on how the concept is executed. Then, recently I read The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller with one of my book clubs, and it is basically that!

When I used to read manga I stumbled on something that's basically this, and it was surprisingly good. The protag got transferred into the realm of a game he had finished became the friend of the Hero of that world. The protag's story was much more interesting than the Hero's.

 

[SamazonE]

I have a fascination with black stories yet I am not black. You would not call it a plot bunny but what I call the white thief shows up a lot. There are racially spanning stories of merchants and dynasties, but very quickly it turns into a nightmare inside a walled city. I get a lot of inspiration from dreams. I am a very basic thinker and not much happens in these dreams however I am often trapped in a glass room and monitored. The stories are mostly sheltered but then it becomes, “Shadow Puppets in a House of Mirrors.”

There are a few dream time stories I come up with, just as I am waking up. There is a naked girl who climbs walls and is the princess in a direct line, but she is stolen away by a foreigner and becomes embroiled over her lifetime inside a complicated relationship with her ‘brother.’ A gay man who seems to use evil, overthrowing the basic mechanics of an evil empire and most of the things he touches with his abilities become ‘sick’ and ‘addictive.’ A Robot also uses his powers to ‘create’ fighting wherever he goes and seems to want to be the ultimate ruler and combines the forces of all the universes.

I am usually good at coming up with plots and twists however the psyche is a powerful tool.

 

[Fyri]

Ooh, the man who makes everything he touches "sick" or "addictive" sounds like a different angle of the Midas Touch. That could be interesting! Somehow also making me think of Versailles and the lotus flower of Greek Mythology.

 

[SamazonE]

When you think about it all gothic cities are pretty good when it comes to mythology and the condoning of philosophy. There are many inspirations that come from non fiction in my style and conception. The idea of putting these cities into some kind of incipient spin always evokes the imagination of the uninitiated. I start many stories with the speculation of a character. There is a whole universe out there and we are just one small part. The comforts of wealth and prestige come to the fore when you idealise history as a part of artistry. Art imitates life but sometimes life imitates art. This draws to attention the reasoning behind most things. The traveler, the thrill seeker. It is much better to keep your feet planted on the ground, but when you are presented with a seed, that seed is going to grow into a tree, and even still produce more seeds. That is the way I see it.

Watching animals is important. It is the missing link. We can idealise about the mysteries of the void, but all things in their place, and much discussion about origin, and what that entails. If you are truly interested in the divine sources then you need only stare at the wall, but if you are presented with a situation you already have most of the facilities to be able to finish the job. What animals do for us, is present the answer, not the lie. We can look at the void, and simply step in, and remain seated when the whole universe is blowing up around us, and the speakers are breaking with the bass line. Then we can look outside, and think.

But there is the notion of throwing the book at them. Animals look like they know nothing, but there is an entire kingdom out there, waiting to be abducted.

 

[Naruzeldamaster]

Ooh, the man who makes everything he touches "sick" or "addictive" sounds like a different angle of the Midas Touch. That could be interesting! Somehow also making me think of Versailles and the lotus flower of Greek Mythology.

My brain: what if an idiot protag wished to have the midas touch but with women?
Also my brain: just...what would that...even entail? Exactly?
The Kitsune Granting the wish: Same exact question with the same amount of confusion. Same Kantor even.
The Protagonist: I dunno, they get more...ya know [does hourglass motion with hands] when I touch em or something?
The Kitsune Granting the wish: [sent to space to the point that she's literally on the floor laughing]
(It was like 1:AM when I thought of this idea)
Funny enough concept for me to put it on the 'backburner' and let it cook though.
And maybe eventually make a Visual Novel out of it.

 

[MSadiq]

When you think about it all gothic cities are pretty good when it comes to mythology and the condoning of philosophy. There are many inspirations that come from non fiction in my style and conception. The idea of putting these cities into some kind of incipient spin always evokes the imagination of the uninitiated. I start many stories with the speculation of a character. There is a whole universe out there and we are just one small part. The comforts of wealth and prestige come to the fore when you idealise history as a part of artistry. Art imitates life but sometimes life imitates art. This draws to attention the reasoning behind most things. The traveler, the thrill seeker. It is much better to keep your feet planted on the ground, but when you are presented with a seed, that seed is going to grow into a tree, and even still produce more seeds. That is the way I see it.

Watching animals is important. It is the missing link. We can idealise about the mysteries of the void, but all things in their place, and much discussion about origin, and what that entails. If you are truly interested in the divine sources then you need only stare at the wall, but if you are presented with a situation you already have most of the facilities to be able to finish the job. What animals do for us, is present the answer, not the lie. We can look at the void, and simply step in, and remain seated when the whole universe is blowing up around us, and the speakers are breaking with the bass line. Then we can look outside, and think.

But there is the notion of throwing the book at them. Animals look like they know nothing, but there is an entire kingdom out there, waiting to be abducted.

For me, I like to take events or things from history and shape them into fantasy. For example, in the time of Buyid dynasty, between 934-1062, there were maristans: hospitals, fully equipped and split into wards, even insane wards. They would send medical caravans to villages and dwellings that couldn't get medical access.

I took this idea and made it that there are two type of apothecaries: Perfumers and good ol' apothecaries (based on the Arabic word for apothecary: attar, which literally means perfumer) Apothecaries are sedentary and are regular pharmacists of medieval times, while Perfumers are apothecaries that move between villages to offer treatment, and because the road is treacherous, they're often forced to fight. They fight in unique ways. They have spices (apothecaries are more than pharmicist in medieval times; they sold spices, which are medicince themselves, perfume, and more) that produce certain effects, like fire, ice, wind, lightening, when burned and combining them creates unique effects that the original magic system can't even produce. They use them in bombs, glass throwing knives that explode on impact, and even bottles that spread and burns the spice.

 

[SamazonE]

It is funny the first thing alchemists tried to create was gold. Then it was closely followed by a fridge. I had ideas about stories, containing scientists, torture devices, and eunuchs. It was of course ended by my own creative licence. There is only so many times you can attempt the political parkour of the Dark Ages. There are however some stand out examples. Monty Python. Le Morte D’Arthur. Dante’s Inferno. Maybe even Dark Souls, but that is reliant on the stretch of the imagination.