Feeding my idea factory

We’re talking about the history of flight in school and of course Amelia Earhart came up. She’s one of the most famous pilots in the whole world.

In case you don’t know, Amelia Earhart’s plane disappeared over the Pacific Ocean in October 1937 (a LONG time ago) when she was trying to fly across the world. Most people think she ran out of fuel and crashed. 

But, I did some research and not everyone has the same idea. There are some pretty crazy theories out there. 

Here’s my top 5.

1. She was a spy.

2. Her plane was shot down and she was captured.

3. She assumed a fake identity.

4. She was abducted by aliens.

5. Her plane got sucked into the Bermuda Triangle.

I don’t really believe any of those, but they got me thinking. ANY ONE of those theories would make a GREAT story.

I started Google searching, and I came up with a bunch of conspiracy theories, urban myths (things/ideas people thought were true but have no evidence to back them up) and fun statistics and facts. All of a sudden, I was writing down story ideas and character descriptions.

Like, maybe I’ll write a story about how the Bermuda Triangle is actually a UFO headquarters and everyone who has ever been lost in it (even Amelia Earhart) lives there—and is trying to get out! Think of all the characters!

My Language Arts teacher says we’re going to write a few short stories over the next couple of months. I’m feeding my idea factory with some great research. What would YOU write about?

Gotta jet!

— Chase Superman Duffy