Popular author R.L. Stine, best known for the “Goosebumps” series, shared some details from his childhood and offered words of advice for aspiring writers.
The 80-year-old author shared tips in his first non-fiction book, “There’s Something Strange About My Brain,” released Tuesday. “I think that I’ve written over 300 books, not a single word from my heart,” Stine told People during an interview. “It’s all written to entertain people. Writing what I know would be very boring.”
“I start out with the idea that writing is not hard,” the best-selling author added. “If you think of it as fun, it’s going to be more fun.”
Stine also discussed how he was a fearful child, which helped inspire his “Fear Street” and “Goosebumps” series.
“It was a terrible way to grow up,” the author told People. “I really was afraid of a lot of things, and very shy. I think that’s why I stayed in my room writing all the time.” He also said there was a “coffin-shaped” freezer in the basement of his house, which led to him imagining he might find a corpse inside.
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“I could remember that feeling of panic and bring it to the books,” Stine explained.
The Ohio native also raved about writing for an audience of young readers aged 7 through 11. “It’s the last time in their lives they’ll ever be enthusiastic,” Stine said. “They want to read you, they want to know you…they want to do everything.”
And though he says cell phones have “ruined every plot,” the novelist’s new instructional provides practical tips for would-be writers. He said the story should first and foremost be “fun.”
“[My characters] don’t learn anything, except maybe ‘run.’ You don’t learn anything in a Goosebumps book. It’s just for fun,” Stine told the outlet. “I always say there used to be this rule in children’s publishing that characters in a children’s book always had to learn and grow. I always thought, ‘Why?’ Adults don’t have to read books where people learn and grow. We can read whatever we want. I think kids should have the same right.”