Laurie Halse Anderson - Writing Inspirations

Writing Inspirations

In a culture where Anderson believes teenagers and young adults are poorly depicted she states that, “I have a lot of material to work with.” Anderson’s lack of fear in tackling tough issues specifically surrounding young adults is what provides the credibility in many young adults confiding their story in her. When choosing to write a historical novel, Anderson states that she must be “overwhelmingly curious about a time period or situation, or she will not touch it. I need to be on fire about something,” states Anderson, “in order to commit to research and the challenge of writing.”

Anderson finds inspiration in short conversations overheard while running errands, ideas through what she is reading, and the events she witnesses surrounding her life. With a plethora of ideas, Anderson must limit herself to the ideas which she feels can be nurtured and are worth investing time into. Surprisingly, Anderson looks more to the community and the outside world for inspiration in bringing her character, themes, and motifs to life. After looking externally, Anderson then internally crafts the rest of the pieces to her novel. Laurie uses her own lens of life experience and feelings to depict the emotions her characters experience. “As a person, as a Mother, as a girlfriend, she gathers her life experiences that transfer to her storytelling in nonliteral, more emotional ways. As she explains, “I know what it feels like to fall in love, fall out of love, be starry- eyed, have a jealous fit. Whatever the emotional tenor of the scene requires, I have been there. So even if I make up every single detail of the scene, the emotions probably echo something I have lived through.”