This extract is part of an online interview which was undertaken with members of the Writers Retreat at the Institute of Children's Literature in September 2008. For more than thirty five years, the Institute has offered the premier writing course for adults interested in learning how to write and be published for children and teens.

Q: I've been working on a trilogy of time-travel novels, YA level (protagonist starts at 14 years and is 16 by the end) for nearly three years and I'm full of questions. About a year ago, I had an interesting exchange with an agent. She felt that in any time travel novel it was essential that the protagonist return home, to his/her own time, at the end of the book. I argued that this was a structure by which adults instructed children so that, as in The Wizard of Oz or most time travel novels, the protagonist would 'learn a lesson' in the past and come home with a greater understanding. I said that for YA this would not be necessary, and that it could be exciting for readers if the characters were challenged to actually adapt to an alien time with very unfamiliar morals and ethics and standards. My model was, in fact, older child adoption where adolescents can be taken from one culture, thrown into another, and struggle to adjust to that new place, new family, and new expectations. She disagreed. So, what do you think? Can time travelers stay in the past? What if it's a choice? Can they choose to stay in the past?

A: In most stories they come home and my time travel novels have ended that way, but I disagree that this is essential. Yes, time travelers can stay in the past and there have been stories like this. They can be trapped in the past, where they either struggle, live well or die very quickly. Or it can be a conscious choice, if they are simply going to build a new life and don't have any crazy ideas about inventing modern technology in ancient Rome or something like that. It is perhaps easier if they choose to live in a relatively recent time period, say after 1700 or so, where it would be easier to adapt to daily life than it would be in an earlier era? However, I have read stories where characters chose to remain in the Middle Ages, so this is not carved in stone. I have no problem with children or adults having to adapt to a time that is alien to them and staying there.

For example, your main character, who could be an older adopted child or someone who has been in a lot of foster homes, could have an unpleasant life in the present and feel more welcome in another time, thus making a conscious choice to stay. I don't believe that characters in a story absolutely have to learn a lesson and come home to a greater understanding. This seems very outdated to me. It is also preaching to the reader and hammering home a message, usually at the expense of the story, which most readers, whether they are children or adults, dislike in equal measure. Young readers still have a great taste or adventure and a good story never goes out of style, so don't get too hung up on morals and messages and concentrate on creating a good, page turning tale that your readers will enjoy.