Let's talk about "Exposure" by Morgan and Jennifer Locklear @MJLocklear ~ My Reading Lounge

2014-08-09

Let's talk about "Exposure" by Morgan and Jennifer Locklear @MJLocklear

2014-08-09 No comments

As Morgan and I have been promoting our debut novel, Exposure, we’re often asked how the idea for the book came about, so we thought we’d take the time to share that particular story here on MyReadingLounge…

THE PLOT BUNNY

One afternoon several years ago, I (Jennifer) was spending a day at home doing the laundry.

Laundry is never my favorite thing to do, but according to the rest of my family I have some talent for it so I own it.

Not surprisingly, my mind began to wander while I plodded through the chore. As I was trying to carry a particularly large and awkward load of clothing from the utility room, I began thinking about what I’d really like to do with the bundle of clothing obstructing my line of sight as I negotiated some stairs.

That’s when I suddenly pictured something fictional and specific in my mind’s eye. And as I folded, hung up and put away the clean laundry, I kept replaying that picture and adding more and more elements to it until an entire scene was completely formed in my imagination.

This is the occurrence commonly referred to in writing circles as the birth of a Plot Bunny.

I had the most basic beginnings of a story idea, and over a period of time I continued to let the idea grow. I developed a main character, supporting characters, a partial story outline, a few conflicts and some (but not all) resolutions.

At the time I was allowing these ideas to multiply in my head, I was in the middle of writing and posting another story online. It was my first attempt at sharing my fictional writing with a wider audience. I thought I was happy and content with posting the seven chapter short story and calling it good. When it was done, I’d planned on going back to editing work for my husband and a few author friends of mine and leave it at that.

I can’t tell you exactly what date the Plot Bunny formed or how long I kept developing the idea. I don’t remember going through any stages of denial, anger, bargaining or depression over a period of months, but I can tell you that I finally accepted the fact that the Plot Bunny wasn’t going to leave me alone.

I didn’t know exactly how big this housekeeping inspired Plot Bunny would ultimately be, but I knew it would be a lot more than seven chapters and would include a big cast of characters. I also knew I wasn’t yet ready to tackle writing a full-length work of fiction all on my own.

And yet the Plot Bunny continued to demand my attention.

Bastard.

One summer evening in 2011, my husband and I were enjoying a date night. We were sitting in an ocean side lounge enjoying appetizers, cocktails and a gorgeous view of the ocean. It was a perfect evening out with my best friend in the world, and in a relaxed state of mind I let it slip that I was being stalked by a Plot Bunny. Morgan immediately took an interest and asked me to share the details with him.

The more I shared with him, the more animated he became. I have to say there has been no one more enthusiastic or supportive than Morgan when it comes to my writing, and I wasn’t surprised at the end of my presentation when he told me I should pursue writing the story as soon as my other one was completed.

I told him no way was that going to happen.

He blinked and asked me why not. I responded by confessing that I didn’t feel ready to tackle it on my own. Being somewhat tipsy and sarcastic I asked if he wanted to help me write it.

So then he smiled and told me not to worry, he would.

I wasn’t expecting that.

But then again…

I’d been editing his stories for a couple of years by this point and he was helping to edit the short story I was working on. Many of my fears in trying to tame this raging Plot Bunny had to do with specific challenges that I knew Morgan would be able to work through. He clearly liked my ideas and we both realized it would give Morgan and I an opportunity to write something a bit different than either of us were used to.

We were always talking about writing in one form or another, so why not try to work on it together?

Still tipsy (but no longer sarcastic), I accepted his offer with confidence.

The Plot Bunny no longer seemed so terrifying. It just needed the two of us to manage it.

***