SOURCE: "An Interview with Paul Zindel," by Paul Janeczko, in English Journal, Vol. 66, No. 7, October, 1977, pp. 20-1.

Janeczko is an American educator and editor of works for young adults. Below, Zindel discusses with Janeczko his development as an author and offers advice to new writers.

[Janeczko]: What is the difference between Paul Zindel, author of successful books for young people, and Paul Zindel, author of successful plays?

[Zindel]: The difference mainly is in the audience. A writer must make a decision about which audience he is writing for. Sometimes he writes for himself. Sometimes he writes for a particular type of adult audience. He may write for what's called a four-to-eight group, or maybe for an eightto-twelve-year-old. And sometimes he writes for the young adult section, usually twelve and up. Some people don't recognize any difference, and feel that their work just transcends all the ages. However, I...