S.E.’s Comments (group member since May 17, 2013)

S.E.’s comments from the Ask S.E. Hinton - Monday, June 17th! group.

Maddie wrote: "Hi S.E. Hinton!!!
I want to start off saying you are my favorite author. I absolutely love The Outsiders, I fell in love with each and everyone of the characters. They help me make tough decisions ..."
Alot of people throw That Was Then against the wall
when they finish it. Good, they got it! I don't
start with a message in mind, years later people write me & tell me what the message was.
I like Sam's hair on Supernatural. I think it suits him.

Jill wrote: "Hello Ms Hinton,

I never cry. Haven't shed a tear in years, except once: the ending of "Hawkes Harbor".

Now please don't take this the wrong way, because I mean this as nothing but praise but I..."

I asked the "powers that be" for permission to write
Hawkes Harbor before I began it. After spending a year writing it, they decided it wasn't "gothic"
enough, but I could publish it without any reference
to DS.
Kell Quinn was my absolute favorite character to write. Glad you liked it!

Fayla wrote: "Hi Ms Hinton! I'm a huge fan of The Outsiders and it's one of my all-time favorite books. The question I'd like to pose has already been asked so I truly hope you answer it.

As soon as my youngest..."
I have no idea where I got the name Ponyboy. Or
any other of the "weird" names. But when I finished the book they seemed to suit the characters, so I left them

Susan wrote: "In addition to the book, the movie accurately portrayed the characters, they were dead on accurate as to who I pictured in my mind and your cameo appearance with Dally was good to see. How does it ..."

None of my actors were famous at the time of shooting
The Outsiders movie. But it was very apparent they would
be. Fun kids & I loved them all.
My students have never supported my work because I've
never had any students.

Susan wrote: "Regarding the inspiration for The Outsiders, is that based upon your own experiences during a tumultuous era or based upon an interest in the era itself? This story is timeless and speaks to all ge..."

The Soc vs greaser thing was going on in my high school.
When a friend of mine was beaten up on his way home fromschool, I started a story about a kid who was beaten
up on his way home from the movies. 1st draft--40
pages long, single-spaced typed.

Vickie wrote: "Dear Mrs. Hinton,
Like many people I read The Outsiders in middle school. It made me want to write also. I can't tell you how excited I was when my daughter came home from school and told me she wa..."

It's like an actor getting into a part for me. After
I chose my narrator, I have to BE him.

Traci wrote: "Hello Ms. Hinton. I am a huge fan of your books and have been for a long time. Thanks for taking time out to answer some of our questions. I have a couple.

1. How did you come up with the idea fo..."

I wanted to really break out of my usual book & write
an adventure book; it was very fun. It was like,
"Ok, Jamie can be a smuggler, a gun-runner, finally meet up with something that really scares him..
And maybe the worst thing that happens to him turned
out to be the best thing. All the characters were so
different I loved writing the dialog. Dialog is my favorite thing to write.

Joseph wrote: "1. One of your books Ordinary People happens to be one of my all time favorites. It was also changed into a movie and it won the Academy Award for best picture. Did you have any input in the writi..."

I would love to claim that I wrote Ordinary People but
I did not. I have never taught anywhere, if you don't
count my student-teaching in college.

Jerry wrote: "I also have a general writing question: I read that you got over writers block and wrote 'That was Then... by disciplining yourself to write 2 pages a day before you did other things or went anywhe..."

Nope, I've written every book differently, trying to
find an easy way. So far there isn't one.

Suzanne wrote: "Ms. Hinton, thank you for making my adolescence so much more enjoyable. I did have one question regarding The Outsiders. Did you ever consider a different ending that was less gritty/realistic an..."

Never considered a different ending for any of my
books. I just tell the story that comes to me.

Kyle wrote: "Ms Hinton

Would you ever consider writing a book from another genre? Like psychological suspense for example?"

Sure. Hawkes Harbor was very different, the one
I am writing now is very different, too. I'd like to
try a western someday.

Margaret wrote: "Hi, Ms Hinton
Everyone seems to love your books, and I am definitely one of them. In fact, you are the number one reason I became a writer myself. But I wonder, how often did you, (or do you still)..."

Sure, once in awhile I hear from someone who doesn't
like my writing--but that is fair. I don't like everything I try to read either. (Though I don't write the author to say so.)

Jen wrote: "Howdy, Ms. Hinton!
I read your books back when I was in middle school. I fell into a great crush on Ponyboy! I cannot say that I became a great fan of your writing, life took a great and terrible t..."

You're welcome!

Jennifer wrote: "Yes, I read them all but the one that haunts me to this day is Rumble Fish.
The only other author from my young adult reading years that made a similar impact was Paul Zindel. Did you ever read ..."

Yes, I've read many of Paul Zindel's books. But he
wasn't writing when I was a teen-ager, so they didn't
influence my stuff

Cassandra (Irene) wrote: "Dear Ms Hinton
I've got to read The Outsiders for year 9 English, and by far it was the best school-assigned book ever. All the questions about characters and the books have been asked by many prev..."

I read both Fitzgerald & Austen long, long after I
began writing. The biggest influence on my writing is
the act of reading--anything.

Katelynn wrote: "I'm going to echo many others - "The Outsiders" is one of my favorite books. As a 7th grade English teacher, I've easily read it 40 times (if not more) - usually out loud to audiences of rapt midd..."

Katelynn wrote: "I'm going to echo many others - "The Outsiders" is one of my favorite books. As a 7th grade English teacher, I've easily read it 40 times (if not more) - usually out loud to audiences of rapt midd..."

I currently read a lot of non-fiction, history, memoirs, etc. A few of my favorite books are Emma,
Fire From Heaven, Kirsten Laravnsdatter

Shelly wrote: "I personally liked all your books, but no one has mentioned "That was then, this is now" which sort of followed up on the Outsiders. I think I identified more with it because it was in my own era...."

Because I didn't feel like I was good at it any more.

Penelope wrote: "Hello! I am sure you hear this a a lot, but I absolutely LOVED The Outsiders. It's my number one favorite book, I own a copy, I had a mini version made on a necklace, even made my own wooden book r..."

My connection to the TV show Supernatural is one of
mutual admiration. I wrote Eric Kripke my first
ever fan letter--it turned out he is a fan of mine.
I was allowed to visit the set, and have been going
back twice a year for five years. Needless to say, I
have many friends there. Love being friends with the show!

Lewis wrote: "I taught The Outsiders to kids and they loved it. It was direct and real for them (even as English kids).
I've read most of your books and could ask questions about all of them but I'll settle for..."
Usually I go through a couple of drafts of one version.
Rumble Fish was a short story, then narrated by Steve,then the final one told by Rusty-James. That Was Then was written 2 pages a day, and I did very
little revision. It depends on the book.

Marla wrote: "I too loved The Outsiders when I read it many, many moons ago. Both my daughters read it and enjoyed it when they were in Jr. High School.

1. The Outsiders is a best selling "modern classic" YA bo..."

The Outsiders was not an over-night success. My first royalty check a year after it was published was for #10.00 I didn't have to suddenly deal with
fame or money.
How many writers get to have an Outsiders in their
lifetime? Not many! I'm certainly not going to complain that my first book is the one I will always
be known for.