Into the Woods in not a prelude to
writing a 'proper' novel
Lyn Gardner, the Guardian's theatre critic, has just published her first novel, an adventure story for children. In her latest blog on the experience of being a first-time author, she considers the inferior status of children's fiction in the publishing industry
"So," said an acquaintance, "now you've written Into the Woods I suppose you'll be trying your hand at a novel for adults next." There is a small pause.
"Actually," I reply "I've no particular desire to write a novel for adults. I want to write books for children and I've got at least half dozen ideas I'm really keen to pursue." "Oh," replies my acquaintance, clearly unconvinced.
I've had this kind of exchange several times in recent months and it's starting to bug me slightly. After all nobody goes round suggesting to Paula Radcliffe that she should stop running marathons and take up the 100m sprint because its more prestigious, or tells Simon Rattle that now he's done a bit of conducting it really is about time he tried his hand at the violin.
Yet if you write for children or work with children there is an assumption that you are only doing it because you're not good enough to compete in the adult world. That somehow it's second best. My publisher, David Fickling, who has published Jacqueline Wilson, Philip Pullman and Mark Haddon among others, tells me that his mother often used ask him: "David, when are you going to publish some proper books?"
Of course these attitudes are a reflection of the regard with which we hold children in our culture, and I have worked long enough in the theatre world to know that these attitudes are not confined to children's novels. I can think of numerous playwrights such as Charles Way and Neil Duffield who regularly write fantastic plays for children but who get a fraction of the attention they would garner if they wrote for adult audiences. Companies such as Oily Cart and Theatre-rites stand shoulder to shoulder with the greatest theatre companies of the world, but because their work is for the under-fives it is almost entirely ignored.
It strikes me that this attitude is particularly bemusing in the book world, because while many commentators argue that we are living through a golden age of children's fiction, many of the same people also suggest that the British novel for adults is in crisis. In the circumstances, choosing to write for children rather than their parents would seem to be the smarter option.
There's another reason too. If you write for children you get the opportunity to have direct contact with your readers. The first-time novelist writing for adults is unlikely to meet and develop their readership, but if you write for children, schools are more than eager for authors to pay them a visit, even if, like me, you are a complete unknown. Why is Jacqueline Wilson one of the country's most successful writers for children? It's because she recognises that writing a novel is only part of the job, and she is indefatigable in getting out and meeting her readers. Success didn't come overnight for her; she worked for it and still does. It is why I'm accepting every invitation that comes my way. Schools, book groups, garden fetes. I'm available.
