I guess I just couldn't see standing there -- alive, talking, thinking, breathing, being -- one second, and dead the next. It really bothered me. Death by violence isn't the same as dying any other way, accident or disease or old age. It just ain't the same.

I was desperate for something to read that dealt realistically with teenage life, and I thought others might be, too.

I never base a character on someone I know. You can get ideas from real life, but every character you write is some aspect of yourself.

I have no idea why I write. The old standards are: I like to express my feelings, stretch my imagination, earn money.

Sixteen years on the streets and you can learn a lot. But all the wrong things, not the things you want to learn. Sixteen years on the streets and you see a lot. But all the wrong sights, not the things you want to see.

Movies can't ruin books. They can only ruin movies.

Stay gold, Ponyboy, stay gold.