The other day I looked out our picture window to see a small bunny lopping down our garden stepping stones. THERE IS NOTHING CUTER THAN A BABY BUNNY! A feeling of “aww” swept through me, followed with peace, joy, love. I then wondered why it was alone, and thought perhaps our neighborhood hawk had claimed its family. Oh, no! An orphan! My heart melted even more for this adorable, helpless creature… and then (enter another side of conflict), I remembered that the day before, I planted eight lettuce transplants in my backyard.

Attitude change!

I rushed outside to secure the netting around my tender transplants. I saw the furry creature by our picture window. It froze. I froze. It turned its head. I spoke: “You are welcomed in my yard, Little One. Eat all that yard clover you wish. Just don’t touch my lettuce!”

After our talk, it went back to eating the clover.

Okay. Writing the Bunny.

Characterization: an adorable, starving orphan, minding its own little business in this big, bad world.

Plot Conflict: Hungry hawk who can spot an easy appetizer from several houses away, and one 100 x larger gardener, not named McGreggor because that name’s been taken. You could add larger conflicts like a tornado, or smaller conflicts like mites.

Writing Challenge: Describe your MC, and list possible and impossible plot conflicts (a.k.a. what ifs).

Happy writing.