Quotes from Robert Cormier

Archie became absolutely still, afraid that the rapid beating of his heart might betray his sudden knowledge, the proof of what he'd always suspected, not only of Brother Leon but most grownups, most adults: they were vulnerable, running scared, open to invasion.

pain reaches a certain point and does not get worse but remains in all its intensity and you can survive it.

A terrific sadness swept over Jerry. As if somebody had died. The way he felt standing in the cemetry that day they buried his mother. And nothing you could do about it.

What could he say? After the phone calls and the beating. After the desecration of his locker. The silent treatment. Pushed downstairs. What they did to Goober, to Brother Eugene. What guys like Archie and Janza did to the school. What they would do to the world when they left Trinity.

When people say they write for themselves, that's probably what they do. I will admit that I don't write for myself; I write to be read. I've got the reader in my mind all the time.

I can't remember a time when I wasn't trying to get something down on paper.

There are no taboos. Every topic is open, however shocking. It is the way that the topics are handled that's important, and that applies whether it is a 15-year-old who is reading your book or someone who is 55.

Affection is one of the most neglected words in the English language, that people throw the word love around like confetti when they mean affection.

The beautiful part of writing is that you don't have to get it right the first time, unlike, say, a brain surgeon. You can always do it better, find the exact word, the apt phrase, the leaping simile.

And he did see--that life was rotten, that there were no heroes, really, and that you couldn't trust anybody, not even yourself.

I simply write with an intelligent reader in mind. I don't think about how old they are.

I had my bully, and it was excruciating. Not only the bully, but the intimidation I felt.

I write very tightly, and my big fear is boring people. I want them to read quickly, stopped in their tracks. I resist indulging myself.

I've had aunts and uncles who not only haven't read my books but could hardly believe that I was a writer.

You seldom get a censorship attempt from a 14-year-old boy. It's the adults who get upset.

All the stories I'll ever need are right here on Main Street.