R.L. Stine: Writing Isn’t Hard—It’s Fun
R.L. Stine is one of the bestselling children’s authors in history. Goosebumps, which recently celebrated its 30th anniversary, has more than 400 million books in print in 32 languages. An all-new Goosebumps series, House of Shivers, debuted in September 2023.
(4 Lessons From Goosebumps Author R.L. Stine.)
The Goosebumps series made R.L. Stine a worldwide publishing celebrity (and Jeopardy answer). His other popular children’s book series include Fear Street, (recently revived as a feature film trilogy), The Garbage Pail Kids, Mostly Ghostly, The Nightmare Room, and Rotten School. Other titles include: It’s The First Day of School Forever, A Midsummer Night’s Scream, Young Scrooge, Stinetinglers, and three picture books, with Marc Brown—The Little Shop of Monsters, Mary McScary, and Why Did the Monster Cross the Road (July 4, 2023).
The Goosebumps TV series was the number-one children’s show in America for three years. The episodes can still be seen on Netflix. More recently, R.L.’s anthology TV series, R.L. Stine’s The Haunting Hour, won the Emmy Award three years in a row as Best Children’s Show. His newest Disney+ TV series is Just Beyond, based on his graphic novels for BOOM! Studios. Two Goosebumps feature films starring Jack Black as R.L. Stine were released in 2015 and 2018. The first film became the #1 film in America. The Fear Street movies all reached #1 on Netflix.
R.L. Stine lives in New York City with his wife Jane, an editor and publisher. You can connect with him on Twitter @RL_Stine, as well as on Instagram and Facebook. For more information, visit rlstine.com.
R.L. Stine
In this post, Stine discusses the importance of mindset in writing, what inspired his first how-to guide for writing horror, and more.
Name: R.L. Stine
Book title: There’s Something Strange About My Brain: Writing Horror for Kids
Publisher: Di Angelo Publications
Release date: October 31, 2023
Genre/category: How-To/Writing Reference
Previous titles: Author of Goosebumps series, Fear Street series, and more
Elevator pitch for the book: Achievable and relatable, this easy-to-digest guide adapted from Stine’s popular MasterClass is perfect for both experienced and aspiring authors embarking on the magical journey of storytelling for children.
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What prompted you to write this book?
So many people are interested in writing for young people and ask me for advice. I thought I’d compile my tips and tricks and writing secrets in a book for those who are interested.
How long did it take to go from idea to publication? And did the idea change during the process?
The publisher came to me with the idea for this book. I’ve never considered doing a nonfiction book. But she convinced me that new writers would be interested in my process and how I’ve managed to write so many books.
Were there any surprises in the writing process for this book?
There couldn’t be surprises. The book is based on the five-hour MasterClass I did. In the masterclass I said everything I know and everything I don’t know. This book puts the info in a more concise format.
What do you hope readers will get out of your book?
A book contract?
If you could share one piece of advice with other writers, what would it be?
Don’t listen to writers who say writing is hard. Writing isn’t hard—it’s fun. If you start out thinking writing is hard, it will be hard for you. If you think about the fun you’re having creating characters, creating a world, your writing will go much more easily for you.