Interview: RL Stine

R.L. Stine is the highest-selling children's author in history with book sales in excess of 300 million. The horror and humour author of more than 300 novels is the man behind best-selling series such as Goosebumps, Fear Street, the Nightmare Room and most recently Rotten School. The US author will make his first trip to Australia this month as part of the Brisbane Writers Festival.

When did the writing bug first bite? Is there a specific moment when you decided I want to write for a living?
I found an old typewriter up in our attic when I was 9 and started typing
little joke magazines and short stories. I really wanted to be a cartoonist - but I had less drawing talent than my dog! (A lot less.) I think I knew I wanted to be a writer at that age.

What kind of material did you read as a child? And what would you say where/are the major influences from your work?
I was a MAD Magazine fanatic. My dream was to have a humor magazine of my own. I actually achieved it. I did a humor magazine called BANANAS for ten years. I also loved the EC Horror comics. They were truly evil and disgusting and had hilarious twist endings. One of the first authors I ever read was Ray Bradbury. He turned me into a reader - and I started devouring Isacc Asimov, Robert Sheckley, and other sci-fi authors.

You began your fiction writing career writing comedy for kids. What drew you to horror when you began to write your own fiction novels? And why children's and young adult fiction?
I wrote about 100 joke books and humor books for kids before I got scary. The funny books didn't sell much-- the horror books took off like crazy. I was thrilled to find something kids wanted to read! I write for kids because they're a much more responsive, enthusiastic audience. You should see the tons of mail I get! (My mail man hates me!)

You also spent time in the 1980s writing novel adaptations of series such as Masters of the Universe and GI Joe (often under the pseudonym Eric Affabee). What was it like writing for a pre-existing series and what conventions and rules did you have to be mindful of when working on these books? Do you get any creative freedom when working on these kinds of books?
Starting out as a freelance writer, you never say NO to any project. You're afraid if you say no, no one will ever call you again. I wrote bubble gum cards, coloring books - whatever anyone wanted. It was a lot of fun and offered a lot of challenges. Can you imagine someone with no military experience who never held a gun writing G.I. Joe??
You have a lot of freedom when writing these things - you just have to keep the characters true to themselves.

Fear Street was the first young adult horror series to be produced for the market. What factors lead you to tackle a horror series? Did you think it would take off as much as it did?
I was writing one teen thriller a year, and each one was a best-seller. I thought one a year wasn't enough, but no editors thought a horror series would work for kids and teens. Simon & Schuster was willing to give FEAR STREET a try - I think they bought four books to start. The series took off and lasted 100 books!

From there came Goosebumps and then the Nightmare Room series. At last count you'd sold more than 300 million books and are the best-selling children's author in history. What do you think it is about your writing that appeals to so many young people? Did you ever think that horror could do so well in a young market?
I stumbled onto something kids really wanted to read. It was an accident. No-one was more amazed than me at the success of these books. I think kids liked them because they knew they could trust them. They never got too scary, they contained a lot of teasing and humor, and they all have happy endings.

What kind of things do you have to be mindful of when writing horror fiction for children? Is there list of do's and don'ts? Are there different topics that you can/can't cover in the different series? And has the guidelines for what is acceptable changed in the past 20 years?
My guidelines haven't changed at all. I have one basic rule: the stories can never get too REAL. The books will be palatable to kids if they always know that the stories are fantasies.

Three hundred plus books in 20 years. You manage to churn out books at an incredible pace. What are your writing habits and what kind of preparation goes into a novel?
I just love writing. I treat it as a full-time job. I try to write 15-20 pages a day, five days a week. I do very complete chapter-by-chapter outlines of every book I write. The outlines have all the action of the book. It makes it so much easier when I sit down to write the book. I've
done most of the thinking!

Also, with so many published works under your belt is there the danger of becoming complacent with your writing and delivering work that is sub-standard? What kind of measures do you take to ensure that each published story is as strong, or stronger, than the last?
The challenge for me now is to come up with new stories and new scares and new twists. After so many books, you have to be very careful not to repeat yourself. That's why I'm enjoying writing my new FUNNY book series - ROTTEN SCHOOL. It gives me all new characters and situations and plots to write.

TV spin offs, DVD and videos, Goosebumps lunchboxes; the name R.L. Stine has become close to a franchise. Do you ever feel trapped in the image that you have created?
Trapped? Are you kidding? It's a total thrill! Do you know any authors who wouldn't love to be called a franchise?!

Now, with the popularity of Harry Potter, young adult markets tend to be flooded with fantasy titles at the moment. Is there still a market for young adult horror, and were do you see this market heading in the future? Is the return to comedy in the recent Rotten School series a by-product of the shift in this market?
Thankfully, kids are still snapping up the old Goosebumps and Fear Street books. But writing funny stuff has always been my first love, and I'm so happy Harper-Collins gave me a chance to be funny again.

Finally, it's the question you're always asked, but everybody wants to know. What advice can you offer fellow writers, particularly those looking to tackle horror in children and young adult markets?
My advice is to read everything that's out there in the genre you want to write. Get a feel for the reading level and the concept level. Read as much of the existing books as you can bear. Then figure out what you can do that's slightly different from what others are doing - different enough to get your work noticed.

R.L. Stine will be an official guest at this month's Brisbane Writers Festival. The festival will be held from September 13 to September 17. RL Stine based activities include free screenings of the Goosebump TV series, a Rotten Schools Rules seminar for children, a comedy forum and a book launch from the author. For more information check out the Writers Festival website.