18 sounds right. Anything under 18 is a minor and playing with fire like you suggest would require some forms of insurance coverage. To get that you would have to be 18.
It isn't until you are 18 that you can legally sign a contract.
I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.