Mark Schwahn

Mark: (referring to the team of Tree Hill High) The team was the Ravens, because in mythology ravens are used to guide travelers to their destination, and I always though the show was just about people trying to find their way.

Mark: I know a lot of the shows that we started with, the kids are out of high school now and into college and what have you, and I always thought that there was a loss of energy when that happened.

Mark: We have our daily dramas, every show does, and if someone tells you they don't, they're lying. It's an emotional craft; there aren't any wrong or right answers.

Mark: When you put people in the sports arena, even in this day and age, a lot of the other stuff goes away and you find out what people are made of.

Mark: I'm a guy that's apt to tell you when I screwed up and when I'm wrong or what I could have done better, and try to learn from it. I really try to check my ego at the door.

Mark: (on the publicity surrounding Chad Michael Murray and Sophia Bush) They've been great about it. It hasn't affected the work place. For me I think that they've been incredibly professional.

Mark: I'm grossly immature and sort of perennially stuck in adolescence. My wife likes to remind me of that on a daily basis.

Mark: Sometimes reasonable people jump to irrational conclusions. Sometimes a person's heart is in the right place, but their means are misguided.

Mark: I have a really good relationship with every member of the cast. Doesn't mean I know them incredibly well or that we hang out but we always have open lines of communication.

Mark: Sometimes my feelings get hurt because people can be kind of harsh on the Internet because they feel there's an anonymity, so they will say things online they wouldn't say to my face, but I also see that they are very protective of the show and they are very aggressive with their opinion of the show.

Mark: (speaking about "One Tree Hill" fans) Creatively they don't always agree with the choices I'm making but that's their right to disagree. I'd like to think it's because they're passionate about the characters I created and the journeys those characters are on, and certainly the work the actors are doing.

Mark: Writing TV was like driving back roads, saying "let's stop and explore, look over here and see where this road leads." It was very different, much more of a marathon than a sprint, to mix a bunch of clichés.

Mark: There's a buzz that you feel when you write a great moment or when you come up with a great idea, you realize how it will inform all the characters in their journeys.

Mark: I don't follow the tabloid stuff, I don't actually watch much TV, but I don't live under a rock, either.

Mark: I think with sports, we've seen it time and time again, there's been some great sports movies made, it's a great arena for telling stories about human character.