Sometimes I wonder whether I am taking the easy option in
writing for children. Not that I find writing for children easy – far from it – but would writing for adults be even more difficult? And more worthwhile?
I don’t have these thoughts often, but they flit across my
mind sometimes when people (often other writers, who ought to know better!)
actually say things like: “You’re wasted on writing for children.” Or, “Why do
you want to dumb down?”
But I don't see writing for children as dumbing down. I see it
as making complex ideas accessible – and that isn’t easy. As Einstein said, ‘If
you can’t explain it to an eight year old you don’t understand it fully
yourself.’
But it's true that I don’t think I could write fiction
for adults – not at the moment, anyway. It just doesn’t grab me. I wasn’t sure
why this was until I read the following account from Gretchen Rubin in her book
The Happiness Project:
“I’ve never really figured out what I get from children’s
literature that I don’t get from adult literature, but there’s something. The
difference between novels for adults and novels for children isn’t merely a
matter of cover design, bookstore placement, and the age of the protagonist.
It’s a certain quality of atmosphere.”
Yes! Whether fantasy or reality-based, children’s books
(especially for the younger ages) are nice places to be. That’s one of the
reasons I write for children. I like to give them somewhere to go. Gretchen
goes on to say:
“Children’s literature often deals openly with the most
transcendent themes, such as the battle between good and evil and the supreme
power of love… good triumphs. [Adult novels] focus on guilt, hypocrisy, the
perversion of good intentions, the cruel workings of fate, social criticism,
the slipperiness of language, the inevitability of death, sexual passion,
unjust accusation, and the like.”
Actually, I’d argue that children – and their books – do
contain all of these other murky issues, but because children might not be
sophisticated or experienced enough to appreciate these machinations in an
adult world, they have to be explored through a child’s world – or a
fantasy world. But I think that children’s books do tend to strive towards
ideals, promote the sunny side of the street, and prove that there’s light at
the end of the tunnel. Children’s books are optimistic. As Gretchen says:
“…maybe children are closer to their natural perfection than
adults, less mired, can still feel like flying, want to be free, to be good, to
be their best selves…”
And that’s pretty wonderful, isn’t it? When it is suggested
to me that I stop writing fantasy and start writing about the ‘real world’, I
re-read the following excerpt from an article in the Guardian, in which
Jeanette Winterson (who has had more than her fair share of the ‘real world’
but has not lost her ability to fly) talks about the benefits of writing for
children:
“… kids can hold on to a life lived on many levels, that
does not altogether follow the calendar and the clock, or the straight line of
events. Life has an inside as well as an outside, and the purpose of
imaginative books and films for kids isn't simple escapism but permission to
keep the Peter Pan part that never should grow up. This isn't foolishness, but
openness, trust, good-nature, and a willingness to live bravely – as all the
fairytales tell us we must.”
Because when you think about it, the world is magic after
all. It’s only because we are accustomed to looking at it with jaded adult eyes
that we see it as anything but miraculous. Children’s books can give us
back a dimension of amazement, remind us how it feels to be enchanted, take us
flying and show us the light. This doesn't feel like dumbing down, to me - more like a lifting up.
Heather Dyer - children's author and Royal Literary Fund Consultant Fellow
Heather Dyer - children's author and Royal Literary Fund Consultant Fellow
- For enquiries about creative writing workshops for children or adults, or editorial services, go to www.heatherdyer.co.uk
- For enquiries about academic writing workshops, go to: http://rlfconsultants.com/consultants/heather-dyer/
