Why It's Important to Write for Kids and Teens
Have you ever wanted to write for kids or teens? Have you, bubbling within you, ideas for stories, a joy in sharing them with youngsters, and a love of writing? Have you felt that you could pen marvelous tales or even great literature - if given a little guidance and encouragement? If so, wait no longer; start writing and we'll help you find a way to get published.
Kids and teens today need Christian writers. These are the years when lifetime decisions are being made: surveys reveal that most people who become Christians accept the Lord Jesus before they're 21 (about 86 percent); beyond this age, young people become increasingly closed to the message of the Gospel.
What is alarming, however, is that at this vulnerable age, kids are the targets of strong influences that draw them away from God rather than towards Him; think of some of the top box-office draws and bestselling books of today.
Young people are feeling a spiritual void, and they're filling it with occult books and films. More subtly, readers unconsciously absorb the writer's values and worldview, whether these are transmitted implicitly or explicitly through the story. These influences are going to echo down the years in the kinds of choices our youth make for life and eternity.
We need to outrun the competition - and it can be done. God never intended us to write pallid, preachy stuff; we were always meant to set the world on fire. We believe the best books are yet to be written - the greatest stories that'll bring hope and healing to the young people of our world.
We need to dream dreams and see visions: of the millions of readers we can influence for eternity; of the greatest children's literature yet to be written; of the many lives we can bring to Christ through the books we write. The need is urgent and it is a wonderful, worthwhile work.