The thing is, the Tulsa experience that I wrote about in 'The Outsiders' is closer to the universal experience than it would be if I wrote it from L.A. or New York. It's an everyman story.

When I was in high school, the genders were so separate from each other. If you weren't 'dating' somebody, you couldn't just be friends with somebody.

When I was young, all the books were about a Mary Jane and the football player and the prom and ending up with the quiet guy and making your mom happy.

I just felt being part of my peer group so strongly. I was immersed in teen culture, but not taken in by it.

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

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