If you want to be a writer, I have two pieces of advice. One is to be a reader. I think that's one of the most important parts of learning to write. The other piece of advice is 'Just do it!' Don't think about it, don't agonize, sit down and write.

Stay gold, Ponyboy, stay gold.

You get tough like me and you don't get hurt. You look out for yourself and nothin' can touch you.

But Dally, heaters kill people! Ya' kill 'em with switchblades to, don'tcha?

I advise writing to oneself. If you don't want to read it, nobody else is going to read it.

It seemed funny that the sunset she saw from her patio and the one I saw from the back steps was the same one. Maybe the two worlds we lived in weren’t so different. We saw the same sunset.

Johnny almost grinned as he nodded. "Tuff enough," he managed, and by the way his eyes were glowing, I figured Southern gentlemen had nothing on Johnny Cade.