I Can't Wait to Write Stories for My Children

I have a good idea of the parent I would like to be.

One of my favourite artists, Loyle Carner, recently released a new album called hopefully !. I have been listening to his music for years and I so admire how he has been able to maintain a healthy privacy whilst sharing honest insights of his personal world as it’s grown. In this particular album, we are given a glimpse of his experiences as a father, a role he clearly loves and cherishes. On its release day, I went to a special show at Hackney Church with my younger brothers, where he performed songs from the album for the first time. His family were in the audience somewhere and it was palpable just how much performing for them meant to him. I can only imagine what it feels like to create something that feels like an extension of yourself inspired by love for your children. It’s the kind of thing I have imagined for myself in the future, albeit in a different way.

Writing is my favourite thing to do. Sharing my writing with and writing specifically for people is, for me, an act of love. I have many incredible examples of young and first-time fathers around me who have inspired me, people I know personally and people like Loyle Carner who share their experiences. It is simply joyous to witness them pour love into their children in ways which reflect them as people.

I have thought in depth about the kind of parent I would like to be and I am engaged to the person I will be fortunate enough to one day have children with. As an author with dreams of writing many more books and one day, children’s books, it only makes sense that I dream of writing stories for my children. They will be tailored to them, reflective of the things they experience and tell me about, a means of showing them that they are always heard, considered and cared about. It is one of the ways in which they will grow up knowing how much I love them.