Ask S.E. Hinton - Monday, June 17th! discussion
Click here to ask S.E. Hinton!
Hi there. Im a huge fan of your work. And i would really like to know whats your favorite book? What books shaped your life and writing? And do you have any suggestions for fellow writers?
Hello Ms. Hinton!I am a 19 year old college freshman. I first read The Outsiders as an 8th grade reading assignment. For the final project on the book, my friends and my younger sister acted out the scene of Johnny's death and Dally's reaction. We had a marvelous time portraying your material, and it has been so much fun re-watching our dramatic teenage interpretation. Honestly, the theme of "nothing gold can stay" has stayed with me through all the years and re-readings of The Outsiders.
I work in our local public library, and one day, I checked out The Outsiders film to a woman. I said how much I loved the book, and the woman smiled and said, " Oh, The Outsiders is a big hit at my house. My nephew's middle name is Sodapop."
I practically skipped around for the rest of my shift.
Ms. Hinton, thank you for sharing your talents with us.
-Leslie T.
My students have just finished reading the novel and viewing the movie. One question that was posed was Did the gangs that you wrote about in Oklahoma ever resolve their rivalry?Margaret Terrano
The Outsiders is the favorite book for my 7th graders. We have been reading it as a class novel for the past 10 years. It's one of the books that truly excites themand gets them to read.
Hi! As everyone has said, The Outsiders is one of my favorite novels. So is That Was Then, This Is Now. And Rumblefish too!
I was wondering,
-What was the inspiration for That Was Then, This Is Now? Its such as subtlely tragic story, and really unique
-And do you have a particular character from all your novels that you identify with? Or a favorite? ;)
Thank you so much!
Caity
I first read The Outsiders when I was 14, and it is still my favorite book at 44. I have probably read it 100 times over the years. I have read all of your other work also . . . multiple times, and love them all. When I was 16 I had the idea for a novel, as I was inspired by you to write. At that time I wrote only 10 pages. In my 40's, after watching Francis Ford Copolla's Director's Cut of The Outsiders: The Complete Novel, I was inspired to try again, and this time I completed my manuscript. Your work lights a fire in me. It always has!I loved the new version of The Outsiders movie, as I was always disappointed by the missing scenes about the relationship of the brothers. My questions are:
1. How did you feel about the original final cut of the movie, when you found out about all of the cut scenes?
2. Did you love the Director's Cut as much as I did?
Hi Ms. Hinton! Firstly, I'd like to say that when I was 12 my dad gave me his copy of Rumble Fish and as soon as I read it, it felt like something came into my life that was missing. It was the reason I became passionate about reading and writing. It brings me to tears to this day even thinking of how much it's touched me.
What is the significance of rivers and the fish to you and why did you choose them?
Motorcycle Boy is such a complex and a quiet wise character. What was your inspiration for him? What do you think happened to Rusty James later in life?
How did you feel about how Coppola portrayed your book for his film? Oh, and the most important question of all, do you like Tom Waits?
Love and light to you!
Hi Ms Hinton, thank you for giving us the opportunity to ask questions. Like a lot of people here, I read your book as a teenager and it inspired me to become a writer too. (You're the reason I call myself D C Grant!) My favourite is "That was Then, This is Now." I want to ask - you were published when you were sixteen, I believe, how did it feel to be published at a young age (in the publishing world) and how did you feel when the book became so successful? Exciting or intimidating or both?
Hello Ms. Hinton!The Outsiders has been my favorite book since I read it in 8th grade. Today at 25, I could pick up my tattered copy today and read it cover to cover....and cry. What do you think it is about the story that withstands the test of time?
Also as a fellow die-hard Supernatural fan, I would love to see you write something paranormal, maybe even work as a writer on the show =).
Thanks,
Shauna
Hi Ms. Hinton, like your hundreds of fans in this thread, I think I nearly had a heart attack when I received notification that i could be in contact with the most influential author of my life. I firstly want to say thank you so much for the Outsiders and my obsession with Sodapop (and then Rob Lowe).
Secondly, as a YA author who is currently doing edits for publishers at Macmillan (and hoping for a deal any day now), what would you say was the A) hardest part and B) best part after being published?
Sorry for the long post- I'm just so excited to contact you!
Nicola
As many others stated - the Outsiders is one of my favorite books of all time. After reading that I read all of your books. I was very surprised by your recent book Hawks Harbor. Even though it was very different from the rest of your books I truly enjoyed it.My question is are you planning to write any more books like it or maybe even a sequel?
Would love to read more from you and thank you for giving us a classic like the Outsiders that will be inspirational for generations to come.
Hello Ms.Hinton I am a huge fan of "The Outsiders" that book is a piece of priceless art! When you were a teen were you considered a soc or a greaser or neutral? Hope you reply! Thank You
I'm excited to see you on Goodreads. Thank you for having an open discussion! Did you ever doubt you'd finish your first novel?
What point did you realize that you wanted to be a writer?
Thanks again!
Cyndi Graham Goodrich
Hello! I'm Connie and I LOVED The Outsiders. Can't wait to read more!My questions are...
1. Are any of the characters in any of your books based on someone you know in real life?
and
2. Do you not like any of your ideas, and wish to change any?
Thank you so much!
-Connie
Hello! I know reading through all these comments gets pretty tiresome, but I really love your writing style! I love how your style is so relatable to everyone!My question is: How do you choose the themes/topics of your books? And how do you tell that those themes/topics will relate to so many people?
Thank you for your time!!!!
The opening to Rumblefish is among the best beginnings I've read in a long while. It's minimal in some ways, yet it gives such strong pointers as to what might lie ahead as well as giving hooks into the characters that it usually takes much more space to create (I had some kind of emotional link with them within those few pages). Given the power it has, I wonder if you wrote it first or maybe even waited until you'd completed the rest of the book and added it at the end. I'd love to know.
The other part to this is what you see as the key points to an opening and what tips you might have to pass on to a writer who maybe hasn't quite mastered 'the art of starting'.
If you have time, I also wonder about your thoughts on the use of dialogue. Again you seem to use it very potently, with little exposition yet lots of flavour and character. Any thoughts?
And thanks for the reads - I'm becoming a big fan even in my rapidly advancing years.
x
Hello, Thank you for taking time to speak with us! I'm a fan since The Outsiders. It is amazing to me that you are able, through the generations, to engage young readers in gripping stories that are relalatable and life changing! My question is do you see major changes in the childern's publishing world and do you have any tips for aspiring authors writing novels, who only have magazine credits.
Thank you!
This is so exciting-- SE Hinton, you have been one of my favorites since I was 11 years old. I went through a phase of about four years where I read "The Outsiders" and then watched the movie once a month. You were one of my inspirations to become a writer. My question to you is, "Why do you feel Sodapop would have died in Vietnam, rather than having a family and settling down, and had Sandy left for Florida to have an abortion?"
My name is Megan and I teach middle school in Utah. I didn't read The Outsiders until last year as a senior in college. It was part of the curriculum for my Young Adult Literature class, and I couldn't have been more pleased with my professor's decision to include it. I enjoyed reading every page and was left mulling over the events and themes from the book for days afterward, so I'm definitely a fan and it's become one of my favorite books as a result. Luckily, I have the opportunity to teach The Outsiders to my 7th grade English classes this coming year!
What advice would you give me as I prepare to teach The Outsiders to 12- and 13-year-olds?
If you could boil it down to one or two main ideas, what are the take-home messages you would want students to pull from The Outsiders?
Is there anything you personally would say to my students as they embark on a new and tough chapter of their lives with The Outsiders in tow?
Thanks so much! I so appreciate that you're making yourself available for us.
Hello S.E. Hinton! My name is Mel and The Outsiders is my absolute favorite book, but I love all your other works, too! I actually was just reading some fanfiction of the Outsiders when my sister emailed me about this event! Thank you so much for everything.My question is kind of different. I know you spoke about what happened to the characters after the book, and I know you said Soda went to Vietnam and died there. How old was he when he died, and did he get drafted or go willingly? How did Darry and especially Ponyboy handle him leaving, and him dying?
Again I know this is a little different, but I have always wondered this. Thanks again!
Dear Ms Hinton, First, thank you for such a wonderful opportunity. I know almost every person has commented on how inspiring the Outsiders is, but your other books are amazing too. My question to you is, How did you get so in tune with your characters. Your dialogue flows so naturally, the characters are so life like, you don't have to stop and shake your head saying, Ha! like that could happen. Its like you are recounting actual events. I am an aspiring writer, and have always loved that about your writing.
Thanks so much for your time.
Heather Pickens
Hello, from Brazil Susan!I'm a 16 year old girl and last year I read The Outsiders, god, you really captivated me... Just the way you wrote from the point of view of a completely different social position, and you were only 17!
I aspire to be a writer, I just don't know what to write about yet.. I've always LOVED picking up a pen and writing for hours! But I've never written poems, plays or a deep little story I think... I just don't know what to do, I'm lost! I intend to study journalism in college and my dream is to write a book.
Do you have any advice for people like me, how do we benefit from this love for writing? How to start?
Lots of love, Susan! I'll soon be reading all of your other works! You're an inspiration :-)
Thank you,
Isabela.
Hi, Ms. Hinton! I read The Outsiders a while ago and I think it's one of the best written books I've read. I couldn't believe it was written by someone so young.I have a question about your writing: do you usually plan your books before writing them or do you just come up with the ideas as you go? Or maybe you plan some things, but not the whole story.
Well, that's it. Thank you!
Hello Ms. Hinton,I am 44 years old & want to let you know that your work was directly responsible for my love for reading & writing. You can find my work here & on Readwave.com if you're interested.
I have 1 question for you since you have so many. I know that you were quite young when you wrote Outsiders. But how did you maintain such a wonderfully youthful voice & viewpoint for your subsequent novels despite maturing?
I have attempted YA fiction and can't seem to find the voice. I always gravitate to narratives more in alignment with my own age group.
Any information that you can provide is greatly appreciated!
~Kelson Hargis
Wow! I can't believe this♥I really love your writing style. I think it's amazing how you can get the reader to relate or empathize with the characters.
My question is; Was there any specific event that made you start writing? I know that you wrote 'The Outsiders' before your twenties, so i'm guessing that would be a very interesting answer (:
Hello! I am 52, and I do believe that The Outsiders was a seminal book in my young life. In middle school, I was selected to apply for a scholarship at Lake Forest Academy in Illinois, and was accepted-I believe because I wrote an impassioned book report on The Outsiders!! My family couldn't afford the incidentals to send me there, but I do believe my absolute fervor for this book is what impressed them.My question-do you feel the impact you made on so many people with that book? Or is it hard to comprehend? I loved your other books, but The Outsiders is the one I read about 100 times, and read again when my own daughter read it, 8 years ago. It still has that magic for me!
How long does it take you to write an average book?P.S. I read The Outsiders in 6th grade and it has been by far one of my favorite school books. Thank you for putting such wonderful material out there.
Jack wrote: "I'm Jack and I loved the book The Outsiders. How did you come up with the idea?"I'm with Jack on this... did you have these different groups in your social structure when you were growing up?
I'd like to tell you how impressed I was with your books especially when I found out you were a teen your own self when you wrote the outsiders. I was probably 14 when I read it way back in the 70's and I was sooooo impressed that I read it so many times I can still quote the beginning of that book!
Hello. I read The Outsiders back in middle school and it became one of my favorites. I have read it many times. One question that I have is......How did you come up with some of the names for the characters?
Hi,Sue. I've had the pleasure of meeting you at different writers' conferences in the past. You are an Oklahoma treasure! As such, can you tell me: what is the importance that Oklahoma/Tulsa plays in your novels?Best,
Carole Burrage
Claremore, OK
First of all, you don't even know how thrilled I am that you will be answering questions on here! My eighth grade teacher had your book, "The Outsiders" as our first reading assignment of the year. The Outsiders is now one of my favorite books. Also, please know that you are such an inspiration to me! I've always enjoyed writing novels and short stories, and to know that you were fifteen when you started working on The Outsiders really inspired me to keep working hard. I'm just wondering:
*How long was the publishing process and what were some of the steps in doing it?
*When the book first came out in the late 60's, was is immediately a best seller or did it take time for the people to actually recognize it?
Thanks again Ms. Hinton!
-Callie Rodgers, age 15
First of all, thank you so much for writing The Outsiders. It has inspired and influenced many of my students and many of them cite it as their favorite book of all time. You should be honored to have written a book that affects so many young people, especially those who don't enjoy reading.My question is this: A professor in college told me you (and several other women writers of the time) used your initials because you were concerned about the stigma that comes with being a "woman" author. She claimed that worried your books may not have been as well received by young male readers if they knew right away that you were a woman. Is this true? I was told that years ago and still don't fully believe it.
Hello! my name is Kaitlynn and my mom and aunt first showed me the Outsiders, i loved it and i have read it over 10 times and then i was a bit like Tex when my mom said you had written more books I was surprised that you had written more then one, though i have no idea why, i just was, so i read Tex and That was then this is now and i loved the way you crossed all three books it was amazing and i loved it! though one thing that bothered me was i didnt quite understand Rumble fish, just the story in general and the ending was confusing to me and i was wondering if you could explain what the book is supposed to mean and the characters in it and such? i did like it i just didnt understand it and would love to hear what you have to say on it and anything else really, also i plan to be a writer someday as well and i hope i can write some books that are great and long lived as yours are.
with honor and gratitude, Kaitlynn Theoret.
Hi Ms. Hinton, I'm a big fan of your books. I absolutely love your book The Outsiders. I first read it in English class in middle school. I loved it. I can't out how many times I have re-read it. My favorite characters are Sodapop, Darry, Ponyboy and Dally.
I have always dreamed of being a writer and you are one of my biggest inspirations. You are a amazing writer.
I have a couple questions:
1. Do you think you will ever write a sequel to The Outsiders? I would love to
2. Today I've read rumors that Sodapop died. Is it true? I'm completely heartbroken.
Thank you,
Jennifer Taylor
I loved "Rumblefish." What was the inspiration for it and how did you feel about the movie? Thanks. Sydney Hillery
Dear Ms Hinton,I am an eighteen year old girl from Singapore. The Outsiders was one pf my favourite literature text which I aced in when I was fourteen and I cried while reading it for the first time. It was at this juncture where I became certain that I wanted to continue doing literature. Just wanted to thank you for making an impact on my life especially as a literature student.
Do you think that the movie adaptations of your books do them justice? And what is one thing you would change in the presentation of the movies that would bring out your own perspective of the book?
Thank you for being such an inspiration! And for your time.
xx
Caitlin
Hi Mrs.Hinton, I'm a big fan of the outsiders and read in middle school for English class. I've re-read this book so many times you would not believe. I love this book so much, my favorite characters are Sodapop, Dally, and Ponyboy. I have just one question for you:1. Do you think you could make a sequel to The Outsiders?
I'm sure many of us big fans would love it!! I know I would!
Thank you,
Your Outsiders fan,
Emani ;)
I've read The Outsiders when I was about ten or eleven years old. One of my favourites books, and I read Rumble Fish too about the same time. Loved both, read them many times since then, I'm 33. I still know the Robert Frost poem by heart, till today.I love to read YA literature, I work with adolescents and nowadays they don't like to read very much. I feel sad about it.
Loved your books and they are still very important to me, I´ve learn so much with them.
I would like to know what inspired you creating them? Does any of the characters exists, or was inpired on someone you know?
Thank you for your books.
Cláudia
Hello, Ms. Hinton!Your books are amazing. Every year at school, we have an Outsiders party after the 8th graders finish reading the book. I am so excited that I'll be teaching 8th grade next year so that I can finally attend the party!
My question to you is which character would you dress up as to attend our Outsiders party?
Also, is there a teaching idea you have seen used with the Outsiders - or one you thought would work well - that will help students connect with this amazing book even more?
Thank you so much for your time and your amazing contributions to the literary world!
-Wahku Ziel
Hello Ms. HintonTHANK YOU for writing such wonderful books that intrigued me as a young girl some 30+ years ago.
What book has had an impact on you from your childhood in the way many of your books have had on myself and so many others? Why that book?
Thank you for this opportunity!
Kelly
Hello S.E. Hinton! This is so cool- You were my favorite writer when I was in junior high and I often have reread the books, especially "The Outsiders", and "Tex". The movies were equally as good, how much input did you have on the movie screenplays? Did you have any say in who played "Tex"? I thought Matt Dillon was perfect!
Thanks so much -- Eileen Famiglietti, Seekonk, MA
Dear Ms Hinton,When I first read your books at the age of 11 or 12, I was unaware the stories had been written by a female. It pleased me immensely to know this. I used to recommend your books to customers when I worked in a bookshop. I now work in a secondary school and recommend your books to students. Even today in 2013 they are surprised to know that a young lady wrote these books.
At the time of writing The Outsiders, how did the people in your life respond to young lady writing stories about gangs? How easy was it for you to be taken seriously and get published? As a young lady do you feel you had to overcome particular obstacles when writing and publishing due to your age and gender?
Thank you for your stories.
Harpreet Palray
Hi! Like everyone else I'm a really huge fan of Outsiders. I read it in the eight grade as a little reading geek. I was probably the only girl whose favorite class was English. All throughout the year we would read these wonderful books (really the best books I have ever read in any class to date) and I'd have to sit there and listen to the groaning and whining about having to read another book. But this book was really different to them. I'm a Senior in High School now and they still really connect to it. It's probably one of the most popular topics in our school. We can all really relate to them more than any other characters.Anyway, my questions!
1) I know a lot of your books were turned into movies. Is it difficult to see the Characters you created in movie form? Are you happy with the movies, or were they not the way you pictured real life versions of your characters?
Thank you very much!
I enjoyed reading The Outsiders many years ago and my son has read it for school. We wanted to let you know we admired your writing. I am a librarian at a small public library and I recommend all your books to teens. Thank you for all your work. Sharon
I Just wanna say that you are really an inspiration for young writers. I'm almost done with my own novel and I wouldn't have even started it at all if I hadn't discovered that you published your first novel at seventeen. It makes me really happy to know that someone so young managed to publish such a well written, detailed book!
Dear Ms. Hinton, I love assigning your book in my 8th grade Lit. class because it is the one book that unites all of us, readers and non-readers alike. It doesn't matter how strong a reader each of my students might be, they "feel" The Outsiders.
As part of the writing/reflection tasks I assign, I ask my students to describe the town they live in the amount of detail you use in your book. Then I ask them if there is any possibility an Outsider-like scenario could happen in their town.
Do you think the theme of being an outsider at this age is so universal that similar events can unfold in any town, any time?
Thank you.
P.S Please answer G.K.'s Mom's question (#48)too, because this is also a question I assign my students. :)
Hi! Thank you for the invitation to this group and thanks for letting me ask a question! My favorite character is Dallas from the outsiders. How did you come up with his character? Ty so much:)
I read The Outsiders and Rumblefish as a young teen. While The Outsiders is my all time favorite movie - followed closely by Fahrenheit 451.Is there anything about The Outsiders movie you would have done differently? How involved were you allowed to be in it's filming?
HI,um,
oh god there are a lot of messages on top of this
Ask S.E. Hinton - Monday, June 17th!
Books mentioned in this topic
The Outsiders (other topics)The Outsiders (other topics)
The Outsiders (other topics)
Were any of the characters in The Outsiders based on true life friends, family or people in your town?