by Brian Matthew Kessler

In my opinion, creative writing can provide a safe escape from the troubles of real world. The heroes of a good book become good friends, as if you had known them your entire life. The world within the book is your home and you know your way around as if you lived there. Time in the real world seems to stop as you are absorbed into this fictional world. When the book ends, you miss the friends you have made and hope the author writes a sequel.

If it was not for the safe escape of a good book (preferably science fiction or fantasy), I would probably have given serious thought to more drastic (and dangerous) means of escaping... such as drugs or suicide. Between the pressures of school, the lack of good, trustworthy friends, the lack of readily available money, the constant nagging of parents, the depressing news around the world, and the seemingly endless boredom of my life, I find it is extremely often that I need to escape. I can not think of any way that is safer than reading a good book.