Bunnies and Beta

[kennahijja]

For dinner tonight, I'd like one-half plot bunny, broilled, lots of spices, thanks a lot.

I'm up to my neck in deadlines till about the end of January, only to wake up yesterday morning, on a day off!, after 3 1/2 hours sleep, knowing I *had* to write down this piece of one-sided Barty Crouch junior/Harry pr0n or it would hound me to the end of the earth. Never mind that I really could have used the sleep. Never mind that I should have sent out a chapter to the betas two days ago.
*shakes fist at fic and yells "I really didn't need you!"*

But speaking of bunnies... I've noticed that the ones which are vivid in my brain when I wake up are the most impossible to ignore. It's like an image stuck in my head that needs to get exorcised or it'll drive me bonkers. 'Beyond This Point' started like that, or that Lucius/Ron/Harry threesome monster I'm struggling with. Better to surrender to those immediately rather than putting up a struggle resulting in neither the bunny nor any other piece getting written...

I much prefer the type of bunny that goes "yes, I'm far too brilliant not to be written, and nicely fleshed out too, but I'm willing to wait till kingdom come you'll actually have the time".

So tell me - what are your favourite/most hated/weirdest types of plot bunny?

Oh, yeah, and... does anyone want to give that Barty/Harry thing a beta once-over as soon as it's presentable? Meaning Sunday or Monday (because that *other* chapter *will* go out tomorrow night even if hell freezes over or the cat decides to bear young!) About 1500 words, and you shouldn't be allergic to GoF movie!canon and channish tendencies and lack of niceness altogether...

Comments

[sylvanwitch]

My plot bunnies come always in the form of a single image that I cannot banish: Ron drowning in a cold lake in the rain, for example, or the smoking ruins of Gryffindor tower. The picture is invested with all kinds of secret meaning that somehow unfolds into a plot, something like a DVD "Easter Egg": click on his pale hand above the water and get *this* or click on that bloodied stone and get *that*.

Sometimes, the picture is accompanied by Lucius' voice (and this is *my* Lucius, not movie Lucius...think less supercilious, more lascivious, and you might have a better idea). He whispers wicked things to me, explaining the images, sometimes, and I have to write them down. I realize this might make me sound like a nutjob, but whatever. *grins*

My plot bunnies almost always have nasty, pointy, eager teeth.

[kennahijja.livejournal.com]

Yes, exactly - that describes what I feel a plot bunny to be exactly. An image, a line of dialogue in context the fic kind of grows around afterwards. Love the easter egg comparison, it's so true ;).

Fun, though - Lucius never deigned to speak to me directly (but I know people whose inspiration works *exactly* that way, and they have him down like clockwork in fic). I still hang on to my version of book!Lucius too, but mine is... less lascivious than movie!Lucius, more the schemer :). Isn't it fun to have all those pretty facettes (?) to the same character? Well, ok, except for the fluffy!Lucius variant... that I could do without...

[djin7.livejournal.com]

All of my plot bunnies are evil, relentless and burdensome. I say that because I personally think they are extraordinary and brilliant, and I know I can't do them justice. I wish I could auction them off for peace of mind. Doesn't stop me from trying, though. *snicker*

[kennahijja.livejournal.com]

Ah, bah! You do them justice! *thwaps for negativity*
Fun though - as much as I'd like to turn them into dead, mutilated rabbit at times, I find it horribly hard to give one up for adoption. Well, unless it's something I'm far too scared to write (like that Harry-in-Azkaban H/L challenge Anne picked up way back and wrote in a way that left me gobsmacked...).

[djin7.livejournal.com]

I have this one that is plaguing me RIGHT NOW. It's evil, it's wonderful, it's Snarry AU, and if I want to use it as a gift fic, it needs to be written and betaed by Dec. 24. *STABBITY*

It also requires research. ARGGG. *wails*

I could not possibly do it justice in time...hmmm...I may have to hang on to that one, and come up with another...

*wibble*

[kennahijja.livejournal.com]

Augh! Yes, if it's a really good one, postponing it might be worthwhile (from painful experience - I decided to go for the long one instead the bit of pr0n, and am now going eversoslightly crazy...)

Either way -
*crosses fingers*

[viverra-libro.livejournal.com]

Hello! I'd love to beta your Barty/Harry fic, if you'd like to give me another go! Just drop me an email anytime -- still at ferretgm @ gmail.com. Or we could use writely, which is pretty cool. Whatever you prefer!

[kennahijja.livejournal.com]

Oh, would you really? *smooches*
I can always email it to you, but:
Or we could use writely, which is pretty cool.
*is curious*
What is it?

[viverra-libro.livejournal.com]

oh, great! I'm looking forward to seeing what you've come up with!

Writely is the coolest thing ever! It's basically a word processor that allows multiple people to view a document *and edit it* in real time. So you can log in with a friend, watch the other person edit, and type them little notes as they're going - kind of like combining YIM with Word.

Bastet and I are using it for a collaborative fic, and I use it for things I work on alone, since I can access them from anywhere. I really think this is an excellent way to do RPG-ing, too.

If you want to check it out, just go to www.writely.com and sign up for an account. Then you'd load your document in (via cut-and-paste, or file loading - it takes everything, I think), and then click the "collaborate" tab. Type in my email address, and it'll send me a link to the document. Or I can upload something as a practice document and send you a link. (Can you tell I think it's pretty nifty?)

[rfachir.livejournal.com]

Can I do it, too? It sounds like a cool idea and a neat new application.

[kennahijja.livejournal.com]

Points... um... down :). I'll try it out tomorrow when I have the time (provided it's finished tomorrow, but it should be!). And thanks muchly for volunteering! *hugs*

[rfachir.livejournal.com]

In case you don't have it, I have a new gmail account: cj.curmudgeon at gmail.com

[kennahijja.livejournal.com]

That sounds seriously neat! Give me time to check it out tomorrow, though - I just walked into the internet cafe ten minutes before closing time right now. I'll have a bit more time tomorrow, but still no home net access :(. If I manage, I'll do it tomorrow, but will send you an email too just to be safe. Sounds ok?

[siamkatze.livejournal.com]

I was also visited by a plot bunny today! I wonder if it's a brother of yours? It was entirely gen, though. :-p Unfortunately, all my plot bunnies turn into loooong epics, so I *have* to push them away until I actually have time for them. At least I wrote it down, so I can get back to it in about half a year.

PS: Talking of fics, there is this one ooooold WIP of yours that I found in my "to read" folder recently... Any chance of it being finished, ever? Or should I just drop it in my trash can and forget about it? *LOL*

[kennahijja.livejournal.com]

Long epics bunnies are slaughtered on sight - that's something I *know* I can't pull off (and I honestly don't get a lot of those, thankfully). Oooold WiP? The Arthur-Lucius one? Not likely to go further - too AU (unless I really have a streak of uninterrupted time - thing is I know exactly how it would end, and it's only three more chapters... :(.

[annephoenix.livejournal.com]

I'm soooo busy that I can only wish you good luck. I can't wait to read your Barty/Harry though. There is so a deleted scene or two or three in that movie :).

[kennahijja.livejournal.com]

Or three or four ;). Crouch/Harry will be out in a week or so, I hope. All the best with the busy! *huggles*

[ex-ella-bane358.livejournal.com]

Lucius/Harry/Ron threesome monster? Now THAT'S a story I want to read.

Finally! I sent off your feedback. Now I won't be embarrassed to comment in your journal. Whew.

[kennahijja.livejournal.com]

Yay! Thanks... ambles off to check.
And pffft - I seriously hope that did not stop you! ;)

[ariss-tenoh.livejournal.com]

My plot bunnies start with an image of a scene (like a young man standing in a snowy field or blood dripping from his hand) or a piece of dialogue said from one character to another. Then the whole thing start evolving into a plot and climax and script and I just want to tear my hair out because I don't really need another fic to write^_^

Then there are what I call "The Stalker Bunnies" who just walk around after me preening and demanding to be written. Those are nasty too.

[kennahijja.livejournal.com]

Yep - those seem to work like my dream bunnies. Nasty! From what I've seen here, the image/dialogue seems to be the nature of most plot bunnies. It would be interesting to really dig into the nature of fanfic inspiration...
*makes mental note*

[go-back-chief.livejournal.com]

Your entry actually reminds me of the most frustrating plot-bunnies I get, namely the ones I get in my dreams. Or indeed any ideas I get while dreaming. It's just, my mind works completely differently when I'm asleep, I think things are funny which I wouldn't even smile at awake, my taste is crappy, my mind just doesn't seem to work. So, if it's a plot bunny that I think "hey this would make a GREAT story" while still dreaming, or when I've just woken up (and am still sleepy), then I can be sure that I won't even get what I was thinking later in the day. I do hate that, though, because I always get so excited in my dream-inflicted state-of-mind, it's like winning a lot of money and losing it.

[kennahijja.livejournal.com]

*If* the dream bunnies go anywhere, then only if I jump out of bed and start writing immediately. And even then, you're so right - they make *sense* in the dream, and even after to me, but I tend to have serious trouble putting them across convincingly as fic...

[bellonablack.livejournal.com]

Barty Crouch Jr! Harry Potter!

Together!

Alright, now you really have to write that, you know. Hehe, I haven't seen that pairing before, and am curious. It did run through my mind after GoF movie, but everything ran through my mind at the GoF movie. XD

Plots bunnies pop up during class time. So the semester is when I have the most ideas. Now I have this one lone fic I'm pouring all my effort into right now, so plot bunnies have to wait.

By the way, I like your icon!

[kennahijja.livejournal.com]

I am - one last scene, and it's done. Fic? *is so very curious*

[bellonablack.livejournal.com]

One last scene...well, I'm looking forward to it. Barty is delicious, and always has been but now, he is even more so. It's like movie!Lucius and his snake cane.

(sheepish) I do have a fic posted on ff.net. I'm just learning how to write so I can't really rec it. It's about Luna in her first year of Hogwarts. I can't say if it's good or bad, because I really have no idea. I wondered what Luna's first year would be like, since there was the whole CoS thing. And of course, Tom is involved and plays mind games XD. I'll e-mail you a link, if you'd like, but I must warn you, I am a newbie.

I now know why I like your icon, it remind me of my own cat, and it has a cute nose. I am much more of a cat person, but I do have this little dog that's adorable. I get to buy little holiday sweaters for him and spoil him.