Author Meet Plot Bunny

by Debra Sennefelder

 "Ideas are like rabbits. You get a couple and learn how to handle them, and pretty soon you have a dozen." -- John Steinbeck

Ideas. They are the life and blood of a writer’s life and career. Without ideas making up stories would be really tough.

There’s a love-hate relationship between authors and plot bunnies.

 

Sometimes plot bunnies appear at the most inconvenient time, like when you’re trying to meet the deadline of the book from hell. Because you’d do anything but work on the book from hell even though you need to in order to meet your deadline. All that you can think of is the plot bunny. It's shiny and cute and full of hope and promise. It's way more appealing than dredging through the book from hell. 

There are other times when plot bunnies appear at the most convenient times, like when you’re just starting to plot out a new book. That shiny, cute idea full of hope and promise is like a gift from the plotting goddesses. 

This author is currently living both scenarios currently.

I had set aside the last two weeks of June to write the outline for the fifth Resale Boutique mystery, BEAUTY AND THE DECEASED. I wrote a couple of paragraphs after I was contacted by my agent about the new two book contract for the series. My agent liked it and then my job was to take those short paragraphs and turn them into a twenty-page outline for my editor. He’s likes a long outline, which works out well because I like writing them. Anyway, I had an idea of who would be the victim and what the motive would be. Next thing I knew, I had a whole bunch of ideas for other motives, other suspects, secondary plot ideas, maybe another murder victim. 

Before I knew it, more plot bunnies began emerging demanding their own stories. Thankfully, I have a trusty notebook to jot down all those ideas for my two current series and maybe another series. I’ve also noticed recently wild rabbits on our property this year. In fact, one of the babies was chilling on our walkway before she hopped along. So cute! Hmm…I wonder if having the rabbits around has anything to do with the sudden onslaught of ideas? Who knows? What I do know is that as long as the ideas keep coming and I have somewhere to put those plot bunnies so they wait their turn.

Knowing my plot bunnies are tamed allow me to focus on other projects, like preparing for the release of two books in September. And I’m thrilled to share with you that my publisher is running a Goodreads Kindle Giveaway for WHAT NOT TO WEAR TO A GRAVEYARD, a Resale Boutique novella. There will be 100 copies of the novella given away so if you’d like to enter please click here and you’ll be directed to Goodreads. The giveaway ends on July 21, 2020.

Debra Sennefelder is the author of the Food Blogger Mystery series and the Resale Boutique Mystery series. She lives and writes in Connecticut. When she’s not writing, she enjoys baking, exercising and taking long walks with her Shih-Tzu, Connie. You can keep in touch with Debra through her website, on Facebook and Instagram.