Do we still call them plot bunnies? Those new story ideas that hop around in your head. They stay there, insistent, and often split your focus. I believe it’s a fanfiction term.
As I’m in the rumination (marination) phase of starting a new project — my “Lake Murder” book — another one of my plot bunnies keeps biting my ankles. It’s an idea I’ve had for a while based on a story from my own family history back in the WWI era, but I’ve been planning to shelve it for a while. I’m still going to. I think. Historical fiction requires so much research. And this story doesn’t have a plot. Mostly.
But then I went down a rabbit hole (oh, is that where the term plot bunny comes from?) thinking about setting the story in the 1920s instead. I’d thought about that before, imagining setting it in New York City where there’s a rich documented queer history. But then! What if I set it in 1920s Chicago instead? Al Capone era! The Outfit! Prohibition! Queer Chicago! Anyway, that’s how I ended up buying an out-of-print book on Chicago LGBT history and ordering an Al Capone biography from the library last night.
I wrote a little bit of actual prose too during my writing accountability group, just to knock a few lines out of my head so I can focus on the still daunting but more manageable 1970s queer murder mystery in Door County book first. I don’t have a full plot for that one yet but I have a lot more than the pure vibes of what I’m loosely calling my “Runaway” book.
Then of course there’s the rewrite I want to do of cat story that’s set in the 1950s. I’m going to have to get a lot better at research if I want to write historical fiction. But I really want to be done with contemporary.
With Love,
Natalie