A Little Light Reading
The value of escapism in troubled times.
There are some days when I sit down at my desk and question the value of what I’m doing. The world is in turmoil. People are experiencing tragedy and suffering. Humanity is in danger of disappearing up its own fundament. Meanwhile, I spend my time conjuring up magical tales, creating different worlds, reaching back to the safety of the past or the curious comfort of fantasy for my settings, producing books which take people away from their own lives.
Is this time well spent? Shouldn’t I be addressing the woes of the world? Where is the profound insight? The opinion? The advice? The engagement with the issues of the day? Fortunately, my writing schedule does not allow space for such existential doubt. On such days as these, I shoo away that provoking little voice that would have me questioning everything I do. I shut out reality, as best as I am able, and dive into the soothing, balmy waters of my imaginary version of the world. Here there may be dragons, but they are my dragons. And a I write, reality becomes more distant. With each scene, each page, I am further absorbed into the fantasy of the story. I am immersed in this alternative place, time, identity. Soon, it becomes my new reality.
Of course this is a temporary state. Eventually I am pulled back to the here and now by time, hunger, people, sometimes even a whippet. That transition can, on occasion, be quite jarring, making me a reluctant traveler, unwilling to leave that distant land of adventure and make believe. But back I come. And the curious thing is, no matter how tired I might be, or how distracted, I think I am better able to cope with reality when I have had that specific manner of break from it. The act of writing allows me and escape, and during that flight from all that is to all that could be, I experience a period of respite. Of pause. There is a meditative quality to that spell of absence. And I’ve come to understand that the same is true of reading. It matters not that the story is a comedy, or a light hearted tale of adventure, or a romance, or a tidy crime, or something whimsical or improbable or frothy. What matters is that it is a story sufficiently well told to make the reading of it (or the listening to it) an immersive experience. An experience that provides a brief time of relaxation, of restoration, so that we can face whatever the real world challenges us with all the better. And that surely (whether the writing or the reading) is worthwhile.
We NEED that escapism Paula or we will go MAD !! keep it up .. ❤️
You keep reading ‘em, Lisa, I’ll keep writing ‘em!
You have a lot to escape lol.
Lovely
Thanks, Pam.
Thank you for giving me a place to escape to within your books.
Happy to join you there!
I just want to say that I specifically sought out the kind of book you write because I was feeling so overwhelmed and sad by what’s going on in the world.
I NEEDED to escape it all. I needed to get out of my head and into another world. Your books have given that to me.
I started with The Winter Witch, and then, because of your vivid descriptions of the landscape, I’ve already decided I want to visit Wales. The Welsh words in the text piqued my interest in the language, and I’ve been dabbling in Duolingo to learn. Reading your books gave me the escape I needed and have given me new things to focus on, and something new to listen to on the way to work instead of the news.
I don’t believe that “just writing fantasy” isn’t helping the world. It can’t necessarily save people from the terrible things that are happening, but it can give many of us a much needed escape.
And I will say, I stayed in the world of Morgana and Cai for days after, maybe even now, several weeks later, I loved the story so much. I couldn’t get it out of my mind. So I too became completely absorbed in the story, and that is everything I needed! Thank you!
PS:
I *really* hope you will do a sequel to The Winter Witch one day. I need to know what happens next!
Thank you for your lovely, encouraging comment! I’m so glad you were whisked away to Morgana’s world, though it is not without its own dangers and sadnesses. Perhaps that is why it removes us from our own, and allows us to experience those feelings at a safe remove. I, too, would be interested to know what happened next for Morgana and Cai, so maybe one day….