In the early stages of developing the starchild series I wanted the whole series to be a quick read for the more experienced readers, but an achievable read for children who were beginning to experiment with new genres and expanding their reading challenges. I also wanted to grow the series with the reader. This meant developing and crafting the writing to be more descriptive and more detailed in character development, setting and so on as the series progresses. The purpose of this model of writing is to allow younger or less experienced readers a chance to grow their reading skills with the series.
As I move through the redraft of book two I’m pleased with the added complexity that is beginning to build. Developing something that will entice children who might not feel ready to take on the challenge of a big sci-fi or fantasy book will find this series is a place where they can start to believe in both these genres. I like the fact that reviewers up to this point have had different opinions in whether the book is science fiction or fantasy. I’ve never been a fan of categorisation, so if anything I’ve achieved my first goal. The book is unique.
I’m not sure if a series has ever been developed under this kind of model before, perhaps there are not many writers that would take on this kind of approach in writing a series. I think it’s worth the effort to create new challenges not just in the writing journey, but for the future readers of serious sci-fi, fantasy and all the other fantastical fiction genres that fall under the umbrella term called Speculative Fiction.
