ESCAPE IN REVERSE

Escaping. Fleeing from a force that holds you captive. 
The definition is plain and simple. Or not.
When you escape one place or one situation, you fall headlong into a different space. 

I still remember the excitement of starting kindergarten, the thought of entering a world of toys and paints and things to do all the time. That first day, though, everything was so new and scary and unsettling, I just wanted to escape to the comfort of home.

It's not easy to move against the winds of your existence. You may travel a bumpy road to fight for a cause or to raise your hand for a job you don’t feel qualified for or, especially, to disagree with people who can make your life miserable. 

It can be scary to leave behind what’s comfortable, to move against the winds that have controlled the trajectory of your current world, even if it’s not such a giant leap. 

But if you don't even try to venture forward, you risk getting stuck.

When I decided to branch out from writing middle-grade books and tackle YA thrillers, it was a leap into the unknown. Could I actually write the types of books I’d loved reading my entire life? Was I capable of lassoing ideas that would make a compelling story? After all, I don’t (thankfully) live in a threatening micro-universe. So how could I possibly do that? 

To do the work I love, I needed to escape in reverse. 

In writing, my mind needs to leave the comfort of my life and fall headlong into a realm where the characters people I care about are held captive by a litany of menacing forces. I need to feel their discomfort, their uncertainties, their fears. My mind needs to live in a world where the worst can happen, but where wits and intelligence and courage can come to the rescue. 

I’ve found that in real life, too, there’s huge value to escape in reverse; to put yourself in outcome-positive situations that, on first thought, may be difficult and problematic and downright thorny. The thing is, though, if you don’t take that chance, you’ll never know. 
And it’s even harder to escape regret.

Jody Feldman, award-winning author of No Way Home, is feeling the sense of trepidation that always comes when she ruminates over a brand new idea. Is it compelling enough? Can she sustain it? Can she save her hero? But she is, indeed, moving forward.