Writing About Writing

Ideas come from ordinary, everyday life. And from imagination. And from feelings. And from memories.

Jerry Spinelli is an author with experience; however, not the kind of experience you may be thinking about. He is a man with life experience. In my Writing 219 class, we are taught to "write what we know", and it seems to me, that he does just that. He doesn't write about murders, or heists, or exotic lives in other countries. He writes about ordinary, everyday life, and makes it interesting. He draws from his life, as a child, growing up, as a parent, and as a grandparent.

The only thing that bothers me about the information on the above website is the fact that he couldn't find his true inspiration until 3 books into his writing career. I guess it scares me to think that maybe he wasn't truely passionate about what he was writing, and was only taking a stab in the dark at something he thought might be good. But it turned out well, and the book was worth soo much. It was a great read, and you could definately tell that he loved life, and children. Why he didn't start there, I guess noone will know. But everyone is allowed a few trial and errors in their lifetime.