BEWARE THE NANO BEAST

Saturday, April 15, 2017
Today marks the halfway point for Camp NaNoWriMo. You've made it this far, so I know you have the strength to survive fifteen more days of this madness. BRING ON THE CAFFEINE.

It's 10:00pm as I write this (and now after 1:00am as I edit this). I may have completely forgotten about my blog post until now. So I decided to throw together a lil' flash fiction featuring NaNoWriMo, and use this opportunity to try out second person! So here goes nothing. It might be a little rough, but... it's NaNo. xD


You are writing.

This isn't anything new -- you are always writing. It is night. You are hunched over your dim screen, fingers flying across the keyboard, the faulty space-bar key partially handicapping your speed. There is a burning candle beside you, and it smells faintly of pine trees and oranges. There's soft music in your ears, fuzzy socks on your feet, and a giant blanket wrapped around your legs.

All of this is normal.

But what isn't normal, is your writing location. Tonight you are not typing in silence with fear that you might wake your sleeping family. No, tonight you are at a camp, and not just any camp.

You are at Camp NaNoWriMo -- where your days are spent discussing with other writers, bettering your plot, squealing over characters. There are endless amounts of food, purely for the sake of "fueling creativity." When night falls, you retreat back to your one-person cabin. You leave the window open in hope that a group of writers will pass by and you can chat with them.

But tonight no one comes. Tonight you are alone.

You resort to your characters to make up for the lack of human interaction. The words are coming along fine, but as your mind wanders around with the plot, something begins to feel amiss.

Thump, thump.

The noise is quiet at first, and you almost mistake it for the drums in your music. You choose to ignore it and keep writing. (bad decision.)

It sounds again, and louder this time. You pause the music and it continues -- thump, thump, thump. Wind slides into the cabin through the open window, and battles with the flickering candlelight. You think back to a conversation with some of your fellow campers. They spoke of terrible monsters -- NaNo beasts and creatures that will let nothing stop them.

Thud, thump, thud. 

The sound is coming from outside your door. Do you dare explore the noise? You don't have a weapon, so instead you grab the biggest book from your shelf and creep forward.

Your heart is pounding loudly, mixing with the mysterious sounds from outside. What if this is the end? What if you're just one of the unfortunate few to fall prey to this hideous beast?

You place your hand around the doorknob, gripping the book with your other. The door creaks as it opens. Your mind flashes and fantasizes with different, horrifying, possibilities: 

-- towering, snarling, murdering monster. blood dripping from fangs. razor-like claws. scratches oozing with green liquid. ready to attack, ready to capture, ready to kill --

You look out.

Nothing's there. Just the wind and the trees and the quiet tap, tap, tap of clicking keyboards.

But that can't be. You definitely heard something. You peer out, and, finally, before heading back inside, lower your gaze.

It's a bunny. 

A bunny, foot thumping on the ground.

You almost let out a laugh at the ridiculousness of it all. To think that you were making all this fuss over a little rabbit?

This bunny, however, is different. As you bend down and stare into its eyes, you realize they're red. It's teeth are a little longer and a little sharper than normal bunny's teeth would be. Before you have a chance to protest, it jumps into your cabin.

Whispers sound, and you see a crowd of campers forming.

"Oh... that poor soul."
"Never going to recover from this."
" -- Until the next one comes."
"Mid-NaNo Crisis in three, two..."
"It's the dreaded plot bunny!"

You follow the bunny into the cabin. "I don't want you!" you try to scream as it jumps into your lap. "I already have my story. I don't need you!"

But the bunny just smiles -- a seemingly evil smile for such an innocent creature -- and makes itself comfortable. Resistance is impossible. You're trapped with one of the writer's greatest enemies: the plot bunny.

Frantic, you bolt to your bookshelf, pulling out your NaNo handbook. You find "plot bunny" in the glossary. 

Definition: a story idea that refuses to go away until it is written.

You read a little farther, and to your great relief, find that there's a cure.

Cure: another plot bunny.

And so your life of a writer officially begins... and may never end.

-
(I know this ends rather suddenly and feels incomplete but I feel like it's applicable to a writer's life and the struggles with the ever distraction plot bunnies #writerslife)

This short story was partially inspired because a couple days ago I had my own plot bunny wander up to me. -.- I'm actually very thankful -- I had been struggling with the characters and this new plot line will help the story immensely. It will also just involve lots of rewriting. xD

Happy NaNo-ing!

<3,
katie grace

how's camp going?
are you one of those writers with endless plot bunnies?

42 comments :

  1. Oh my goodness. This was so great. I totally understand where you're coming from! It's so TRUE! The plot bunnies are the worst. They come after me like, I don't know, every three DAYS, so I'm very afraid of them.

    But at the same time they are my favorite little pets. XD
    thefloridsword.blogspot.com

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    1. I know I would love to own a little plot bunny they could be so cute. (except their true self, with evil eyes and sharp teeth. -.-)

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  2. BWAHAHAHA!!! This was the greatest thing! XDDDD I should have KNOWN the "monster" was a bunny. I laughed hysterically when it appeared. (I also love how the writer grabs the biggest book for a weapon. I mean, obviously.)

    This was the BEST! And so, so accurate. Oh plot bunnies...they are relentless.

    I hope the second half of Camp goes wonderfully for you! *waves pompoms*

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    1. HEHEHE. I was hoping that I wouldn't make it too obvious. AND YES! Books make the greatest weapons, mwahah.

      SAME FOR YOU!! *waves pompoms* Or, if you aren't doing Camp, good luck with your other writing projects!

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  3. That was so fun! I wish there really was a Camp NaNoWriMo for us all to go to. I'm actually waiting on the next plot bunny, I need my next idea to work on-- in a few months. One usually has shown up by now. (though, it's probably a good thing that none have showed up so I can focus on my stories)
    ~Josie

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    1. WOULDN'T THAT BE AMAZING? *happy sigh* I'm not a huge fan of camping, but that would totally be worth it. xD

      Ah, same! I don't know what I'm doing for NaNoWriMo yet, so hopefully a lil' plot bunny will come along soon here...

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  4. Hah, this was the BEST. xD Fortunately I am blessed with never really having plot bunny attacks... at all. My demon bunnies come in the form of BUSYNESS + procrastination, but I'm sure I'll experience an evil, hardcore plot bunny eventually.

    And then... I probably won't survive. O.o

    Anyway, this was ridiculously fun to read. I loved the use of second person and how the other Campers were mumbling "Mid NaNo crisis" and "Oh, that poor soul." xD Genius flash fiction, Katie.

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    1. SAME. I don't have many plot bunny attacks either... just new plot ideas when i'm writing a novel, which kind of counts, I guess. I have small ideas for future novels, but... *shrugs* Not many.

      Eeep, thank you. XD

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  5. That was great. :) I loved that the writer grabbed a book as a weapon. Yes plot bunnies,the dreaded "monster", I get them all the time! xD I hope that the rest of Camp NaNo goes smoothly for you. (*laughs* is that possible?)
    Happy Writing!

    -Lydia

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    1. HA I hope it'll go smoothly. Are you doing Camp NaNo?

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    2. Yep, I'm in the same cabin as you. :D
      How has your writing been going?

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  6. Ahh! I live it! Typically second person writing annoys me, but this was great:)

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    1. Oh that's super good to hear! This was my first time giving it a try, so I'm glad it worked out. :D

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  7. Oh my gosh, I really enjoyed that, Katie! So fun and true -- WHY CAN'T THE BUNNIES JUST LEAVE US AND OUR STORIES IN PEACE??? *wails* Hope Camp is going well for you!

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    1. RIGHT?? *sobs* I need to set up a barricade of some sorts to avoid all the hunting bunnies. xD

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  8. I really liked the short story. It was intense in the beginning and then it made me smile and laugh a little. So good job, I really liked it. 😊 And yes, as about half the comments say, I too agree that it was awesome that the writer grabbed the biggest book as a weapon because yes, that is exactly what we would do lol. 😂

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    1. Awww thank you! YESS. I think of all the big books on my bookshelf and I feel like I'm really prepared if someone is to ever break in. *starts chucking all the novels* xD

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    2. *joins the madness and starts chucking books too*

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  9. So this gave a major Twilight Zone feel, which was great. :)

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    1. Ooooh. I've never watched that show but maybe someday. *nodnod*

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  10. This was hilarious and brilliantly accurate. I have a Word document where I (try to) contain all of the plot bunnies until I can work on them, but it's growing at an alarming rate and isn't terribly effective.

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    1. Ooh, that must be a great word document to scroll through. (and so tempting, because ALL THE STORIES. o.O)

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  11. *squeaks and hides from the relentless plot bunnies* This was SO ACCURATE. Except, for me, the plot bunny is SO INCREDIBLY ADORABLE that I let it right in. And then I realize that it's evil LATER. And by that time it won't LEAVE. I'm such a naive little writer xD.

    "--towering, snarling, murdering monster. blood dripping from fangs. razor-like claws. scratches oozing with green liquid. ready to attack, ready to capture, ready to kill--" WRITERS HAVE OVERLY ACTIVE IMAGINATIONS. This was so accurate xD.

    Anyways. Camp's going okay (I had to cut my goal in half though, because I forgot that hitting a high wordcount isn't so easy when it's not a first draft, haha), and I'm SO excited to see where this story ends up at the end of April. How's it going for you?

    ~ Savannah
    scattered-scribblings.blogspot.com

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    1. AH YES I'M GLAD YOU CAUGHT THAT. I tried to put in little quirks that writers have, and I wish I would've put in more... but oh well. xD

      Awhh, that's okay! April is a very busy month. :P
      It's going well!! I'M SO BUSY THIS WEEK THOUGH. SO BUSY. o.o *collapses* Yikes. Hopefully I'll survive. xD

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  12. HAHAHA I love this Katie. So #relatable!!

    Hailey
    www.haileyhudson.wordpress.com

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  13. Awww, second person works AWESOME in this!!! Probably because it's *so* relatable and I feel like I'm reading my own thoughts. XD

    Sooo...do you have plans to publish any of your novels in the near future? (Is asking for selfish reasons. ;) )

    Ivy
    //LakesidePublications

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    1. AH THANK YOU. I was hoping it would be relatable. xD

      Sighh SOMEDAY. I really want to publish traditionally. It will take more time, but I'm ready for the journey. *nodnod*

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  14. I love this! Fabulous use of second person, and awesome idea!

    I currently have a Plot Bunny holding pen. When one shows up, I stick it in there and it can make all the noise it likes, but it has to wait its turn with the rest.

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    1. Eek thank you!

      Oooh I like that idea. xD *nodnod*

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    2. I should try this Plot Bunny Pen...might help.

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  15. Oh my goodness this was so wonderful *rolls around giggling and squealing* I was attacked by this beast ... Still not sure if it's a good thing or not XP At least I have a nano book for July now! :D

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    1. YES IT'S TOTALLY A GOOD THING BECAUSE THIS NEW STORY IDEA SOUNDS AMAZING AND I WANT IT RIGHT NOW ASJFKLA;DSJ

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  16. Oh my gosh Katie this is incredible. It needs to be on a poster or something so one can glance up at it all year round and look at a idyllic writing scene with the words overlaid on it. xD

    My editing has gone so incredibly slow. Being in a play + schoolwork leaves one with little time to devote writing. -.- I did convince a friend to join this year, and it's been fun word warring with them, though!

    jeniquablog.wordpress.com

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    1. Awwwh XD

      Dude, you're in a play? I don't know if I've heard about this... what play? How exciting. :D

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  17. KATIE YOU DON'T EVEN UNDERSTAND SO MANY PLOT BUNNIES SO MANY PLOT BUNNIES SO MANY *dies*

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    1. *Frantically flails with Aimee about plot bunnies*

      THE PLOT BUNNIES ARE TOO MUCH THEY ARE CONSPIRING AGAINST US ITS A CONSPIRACY

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    2. BUT THAT'S OKAY AS LONG AS I GET TO READ THEM ALL xD

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  18. LOLOL! I loved this!! XD
    You know, I actually love plot bunnies... XD
    ~Jaclynn~

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    1. They are quite adorable until they show their true selves. xD

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