Insane Dames

Back to Writing Myths Page

Up, Up and Away!

by Sue McKlveen

"So my character starts out on a plane to France..."
"Stop right there. Never, ever start a book on a plane. Don't you know that?"

Yes, I've heard that myth and to tell you the truth, I can't believe it's considered fact. A while back, I was reading an agent blog, where the agent said she was tired of reading stories that began on a plane. Nothing happened, except for the person thinking about their past, bringing in backstory.

I'm sure this is where this myth began, and I can understand not putting a bunch of introspection or backstory at the beginning of a story. However, having the setting on a plane has nothing to do with the backstory, it's just the slow pace of the introspection and the backstory that's the problem...not the plane. If that were the case, there would never be a story that entirely takes place on a plane...and Hollywood has tons of them.

So, start your story on a plane, but like every story, make it interesting. Don't dump backstory or introspection in the beginning, like for every story. The plane has nothing to do with it, other than creating a confined setting.

Back to Writing Myths Page