If someone asks me what I do and I reply, “I am a writer of books,” it is almost universally understood what I mean. So when I answer that way, the next question is almost always, “What kind of books do you write?”
I’ll say, “I write books for young people.”
“Oh, that’s fun.”
As in, “That’s easy.”
In our educational culture, reading and writing are almost universally taught. I think there is an expectation that everyone can do so, though that is far from the case. Regardless, if one also accepts the notion (I do) that writing is an art, it is the only art that is pretty much universally taught. Music isn’t. Drawing isn’t. Singing and dancing aren’t. Sculpture isn’t. I believe they should be, but aren’t.
Writing, however, is.
To be sure, writing is not taught as an art, but primarily as a basic necessary social skill. “You need it to get along.”
But, if you also believe, as I do, that a considerable part of writing is reading, and that the skill of reading is taught less and less, we have a problem with writing.
Let me put it metaphorically. If I am going to teach someone to play baseball, I probably would begin by giving instructions on how to throw a ball. But if there is no one to catch the ball, it’s a pretty meaningless exercise. So it is when you write (throwing the ball) you are expecting someone to read what you have written (catching the ball).
To be sure, the art of writing goes far beyond a simple game of throw and catch. When you are writing, you are sharing depictions of existence, ideas, emotions, relationships, and a whole lot beyond. Just to begin, you require a vocabulary so that you can name all those things. Remember, in the Garden of Eden, Adam began exploring his new world by naming things. Likewise, watch an infant attempt to describe, vent, or express something deeply felt with a limited word choice. It can promote frustration to the level of tantrums.
The big difference between writing for adults and writing for young people is that the young do not have a fully developed vocabulary, nor the experiences to put in context all the words one uses in portraying a bigger world.
Writing for young people (to go back to my metaphor) involves the writer throwing that ball to different young people who are moving about to different places at random. But as a writer, you are also throwing the ball from your one hand to your other. Which is to say a writer writes and reads simultaneously.
I think you can write about anything for young people, but to be successful at it, you must do it in a way that makes sense to the young person. Of course, there is no universal “young person.” Each child is unique in terms of their vocabulary and experience. A moving target, if ever there was one. But oh, such a worthy one!
Is writing for young people fun?
Sometimes.
Mostly it’s hard.
But I still like trying.