I'm often asked why I prefer to write for children and young adults, and in previous years I struggled with the answer, but it's become clear to me with time that I simply want to escape. The current state of the world, with all its wars and cruelty, urges me to retain a semblance of innocence for the young ones who didn't have a chance to grow up in the kind of world that I reminisce, or the kind of world that they don't often get to see. While it would be easier to simply shelter them till they're 'old enough' it's just not practical, so instead I wish to provide them with a safe haven, a utopia, or even a dystopia that they can save at the very least. This is where the fantasy of fiction resides. Using my imagination to create characters and worlds that inspire adventure, humour, and a sense of belonging; a home, is where my heart truly lies. I can't deny that within my writing I don't attempt to cover real world issues, and I certainly don't aim to sugar coat them either. Even if I could, the world is so open that kids now a days know more about Trump than a senior citizen may. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, and while my goal isn't to hint at subliminal messages or retain a political agenda through this fantasy world, yet I believe most writers would agree that any art is a form of expression, a form of escapism, and freedom from restrictions of the physical world.
Fantasy as a genre is the desire for free thought, a world that allows us to behave and become what our wildest imagination pushes us to explore. This is what inspires me to be the writer I always dreamed to become.
Comments