A Conversation with Author R.L. Stine
R.L. Stine talked to KOL Books editor Mike about his brand-new DVD, 'R.L. Stine's The Haunting Hour: Don't Think About It.' The movie stars Emily Osment, Cody Linely and Tobin Bell, and comes out in stores tomorrow!
Hi Mr. Stine, this is Mike from KOL. How are you?
R.L. Stine: Fine, thanks.
I just wanted to take a few moments of your time to ask you a few questions about your new DVD, 'R.L. Stine's The Haunting Hour: Don't Think About It.'
R.L. Stine: Excellent.
First of all, congratulations! I watched it last night, and it was a lot of fun.
R.L. Stine: It's pretty good, right? It's a good monster. Great two-headed monster! I love it when the pizza guy gets it. That's my favorite part. They did a nice job!
Yes, I thought so too. So what was your involvement with the movie, other than that it was based on your work?
R.L. Stine: Well, I had a lot of script involvement. It's funny, Billy and Dan were the two guys who did the Goosebumps TV show. We did four or five years of that, they were terrific, I was really pleased with those shows. And they're doing this one - we're hoping to do a whole series of these, based on my book of short stories, 'The Haunting Hour.' But when we got started, they had a story they wanted to do - this one - so I said "Okay, we'll do yours first." So we sat down, and I had a lot of ideas for the script, but it was basically their story. I had a lot of input all the way through. Then the next one, we're hoping to do a second one, and that'll be based on a story from the book.
So then is the plan to hopefully adapt all the stories?
R.L. Stine: Well, we don't know if we'll be able to do all of them, but I hope to do some more movies. It looks like we are going to do the second one.
Excellent. Did you spend much time on the set during the actual filming?
R.L. Stine: Well, I was supposed to, and I was going to do a whole thing with Tobin Bell on the set, but just as they started to film, I fell off a ladder and ripped my Achilles tendon. I became a helpless cripple for two months [laughs]. So I didn't feel like going to Pittsburgh - I was in a wheelchair - so I had a bad winter. Achilles tendon, you don't want to mess with it. So anyway, I missed the whole thing! I didn't get there! I didn't meet Tobin Bell, I didn't do anything. But later, I did some of the bonus features, I have an interview on the DVD, stuff like that.
Yes, I watched that too last night.
R.L. Stine: Oh, I haven't seen it yet. You saw it before I did.
You're a very prolific author, so I imagine you spend much of your time writing.
R.L. Stine: Yeah, I've been writing too much this summer. I've been writing every day! I'm just finishing up this funny series I've been doing for kids, called Rotten School, and I've done 16 of those, and that's been great, not being scary for awhile, not having to terrify kids. I really had fun with that. And I just signed up to do 12 new Goosebumps books. I haven't written Goosebumps in eight years, so I'm going to a whole new Goosebumps series. So yeah, I've been working a lot.
What's a typical workday like for you?
R.L. Stine: I pretty much treat it like a full-time job, and I write five or six days a week. I get up, have coffee, walk the dog, and then I'm usually at my computer by about ten o'clock. I set a goal for myself every day. I say, I'm going to write 10 pages today. Or, today I'm going to write 15 pages. And then I don't get up until I've done it. And then I'm totally brain dead for the rest of the day [laughs]. I'm a machine, basically. I'm cut out for this. I'm cut out for being home and for doing this.
Are there days when you find yourself, at the end of the day, you haven't met that goal? Do you have to just keep sitting there?
R.L. Stine: Some days you don't. You know, people always ask me about writer's block. I never have writer's block, because I do too much planning first, before I start to write. But some days, it feels like you're writing uphill, you know, it's like a struggle, you don't know what language it is. I just keep going, I figure I'll go back and fix it later.
In your interview, in the DVD's Bonus Features, you mentioned how it's important for a writer to read. Who are some of your favorite authors?
R.L. Stine: Nowadays, I read a lot of mysteries... Michael Connelly, Harlan Coben - he's a friend of mine, he's a great thriller writer. And I like Agatha Christie. And I've always liked science fiction. Ray Bradbury is a real favorite author of mine. I discovered him when I was 10 years old. He turned me into a reader. I couldn't believe his stories, they were so good. And I love surprise endings. It's kind of a thing with me. I don't know why, I just like surprise endings. And he always had great ones.
Have you read anything recently that you'd recommend to our KOL audience?
R.L. Stine: No, I haven't read much kid's stuff lately. But I always recommend this Ray Bradbury novel to everybody, which I think is the scariest, creepiest book ever written. Kids, I think, would really like it. It's called "Something Wicked This Way Comes."
Oh yes, I read that myself when I was a kid.
R.L. Stine: Yes, it's a great, creepy novel. I'm from the Midwest, and the book takes place in the Midwest, with this kid sneaking out of his house late at night, going to this weird carnival.
Why did you choose to write for kids, rather than adults?
R.L. Stine: They're just a better audience. I've written a few books for adults, but adults don't write to you. They don't have time. You don't hear from them. But most of my readers are like seven to 12 years old. You hear from them constantly. You get mail, great emails, and they're a very enthusiastic audience. I love that. I think I get them at the last time they'll be enthusiastic about an author. Because you know, after 12, they?ve gotta be "cool," right? They totally change.
You did a story for your Internet audience that we featured on KOL last year, "The Kid Behind the Door." And you're doing another one for us this Halloween, I understand. What have you enjoyed most about doing these Internet stories?
R.L. Stine: Well, partly because it's the first time I've worked with my son. He produces and directs them and does all the sound effects, so that's fun. You know, his claim to fame was that he'd never read one of my books. He bragged about that. You know, just to make me nuts [laughs]. He never read one, really. So now it's kind of fun, he has to read this stuff, and it's been fun working with him on it. And I just like exploring this whole idea of something that's not in print, that they can only get online, and it's different from anything I'm doing in books, and I love that. It's sort of like inventing radio, isn't it? Kids don't know that, they don't know it's from 1945, right? [laughs] We've gotten a great response. I opened a message board on my website, rlstine.com, and I'm getting kids begging for more of them. Every day, I'm getting 20 or 30 requests saying "Oh, we loved it, we loved it, we listened to it with the lights out, we want more." So that's fun.
In 2003, the Guinness Book of World Records named you the number-one best-selling children?s book series author of all time. How did that make you feel?
R.L. Stine: What a great thing. It's the kind of thing you'd never dream about in your whole life. What happened with Goosebumps was amazing, and you can't really explain it. It just took off all over the world. It was one of these bizarre things. Anyway, it was very nice. I think I have to say, I'm now the best-selling children?s author of the twentieth century, but not of the twenty-first century [laughs]. I think I've been passed.
One final question, have you met your writing goal today?
R.L. Stine: [Laughs] I took the day off today. I worked all day yesterday. I've been working on the third Goosebumps book. I've been working all summer, I don't know why. I don't know what I'm doing here, but I'm churning them out.
It's been a pleasure talking to you.
R.L. Stine: KOL is really fun, and I'm really happy we're doing these audio things for KOL. I like the radio station too, [DJ Rick] is really nuts, isn't he? I've done his show two or three times, he's always funny.
We'll have to get you back on there, then.
R.L. Stine: That would be great. Okay, take care, thanks a lot.
Hi Mr. Stine, this is Mike from KOL. How are you?
R.L. Stine: Fine, thanks.
I just wanted to take a few moments of your time to ask you a few questions about your new DVD, 'R.L. Stine's The Haunting Hour: Don't Think About It.'
R.L. Stine: Excellent.
First of all, congratulations! I watched it last night, and it was a lot of fun.
R.L. Stine: It's pretty good, right? It's a good monster. Great two-headed monster! I love it when the pizza guy gets it. That's my favorite part. They did a nice job!
Yes, I thought so too. So what was your involvement with the movie, other than that it was based on your work?
R.L. Stine: Well, I had a lot of script involvement. It's funny, Billy and Dan were the two guys who did the Goosebumps TV show. We did four or five years of that, they were terrific, I was really pleased with those shows. And they're doing this one - we're hoping to do a whole series of these, based on my book of short stories, 'The Haunting Hour.' But when we got started, they had a story they wanted to do - this one - so I said "Okay, we'll do yours first." So we sat down, and I had a lot of ideas for the script, but it was basically their story. I had a lot of input all the way through. Then the next one, we're hoping to do a second one, and that'll be based on a story from the book.
So then is the plan to hopefully adapt all the stories?
R.L. Stine: Well, we don't know if we'll be able to do all of them, but I hope to do some more movies. It looks like we are going to do the second one.
Excellent. Did you spend much time on the set during the actual filming?
R.L. Stine: Well, I was supposed to, and I was going to do a whole thing with Tobin Bell on the set, but just as they started to film, I fell off a ladder and ripped my Achilles tendon. I became a helpless cripple for two months [laughs]. So I didn't feel like going to Pittsburgh - I was in a wheelchair - so I had a bad winter. Achilles tendon, you don't want to mess with it. So anyway, I missed the whole thing! I didn't get there! I didn't meet Tobin Bell, I didn't do anything. But later, I did some of the bonus features, I have an interview on the DVD, stuff like that.
Yes, I watched that too last night.
R.L. Stine: Oh, I haven't seen it yet. You saw it before I did.
You're a very prolific author, so I imagine you spend much of your time writing.
R.L. Stine: Yeah, I've been writing too much this summer. I've been writing every day! I'm just finishing up this funny series I've been doing for kids, called Rotten School, and I've done 16 of those, and that's been great, not being scary for awhile, not having to terrify kids. I really had fun with that. And I just signed up to do 12 new Goosebumps books. I haven't written Goosebumps in eight years, so I'm going to a whole new Goosebumps series. So yeah, I've been working a lot.
What's a typical workday like for you?
R.L. Stine: I pretty much treat it like a full-time job, and I write five or six days a week. I get up, have coffee, walk the dog, and then I'm usually at my computer by about ten o'clock. I set a goal for myself every day. I say, I'm going to write 10 pages today. Or, today I'm going to write 15 pages. And then I don't get up until I've done it. And then I'm totally brain dead for the rest of the day [laughs]. I'm a machine, basically. I'm cut out for this. I'm cut out for being home and for doing this.
Are there days when you find yourself, at the end of the day, you haven't met that goal? Do you have to just keep sitting there?
R.L. Stine: Some days you don't. You know, people always ask me about writer's block. I never have writer's block, because I do too much planning first, before I start to write. But some days, it feels like you're writing uphill, you know, it's like a struggle, you don't know what language it is. I just keep going, I figure I'll go back and fix it later.
In your interview, in the DVD's Bonus Features, you mentioned how it's important for a writer to read. Who are some of your favorite authors?
R.L. Stine: Nowadays, I read a lot of mysteries... Michael Connelly, Harlan Coben - he's a friend of mine, he's a great thriller writer. And I like Agatha Christie. And I've always liked science fiction. Ray Bradbury is a real favorite author of mine. I discovered him when I was 10 years old. He turned me into a reader. I couldn't believe his stories, they were so good. And I love surprise endings. It's kind of a thing with me. I don't know why, I just like surprise endings. And he always had great ones.
Have you read anything recently that you'd recommend to our KOL audience?
R.L. Stine: No, I haven't read much kid's stuff lately. But I always recommend this Ray Bradbury novel to everybody, which I think is the scariest, creepiest book ever written. Kids, I think, would really like it. It's called "Something Wicked This Way Comes."
Oh yes, I read that myself when I was a kid.
R.L. Stine: Yes, it's a great, creepy novel. I'm from the Midwest, and the book takes place in the Midwest, with this kid sneaking out of his house late at night, going to this weird carnival.
Why did you choose to write for kids, rather than adults?
R.L. Stine: They're just a better audience. I've written a few books for adults, but adults don't write to you. They don't have time. You don't hear from them. But most of my readers are like seven to 12 years old. You hear from them constantly. You get mail, great emails, and they're a very enthusiastic audience. I love that. I think I get them at the last time they'll be enthusiastic about an author. Because you know, after 12, they?ve gotta be "cool," right? They totally change.
You did a story for your Internet audience that we featured on KOL last year, "The Kid Behind the Door." And you're doing another one for us this Halloween, I understand. What have you enjoyed most about doing these Internet stories?
R.L. Stine: Well, partly because it's the first time I've worked with my son. He produces and directs them and does all the sound effects, so that's fun. You know, his claim to fame was that he'd never read one of my books. He bragged about that. You know, just to make me nuts [laughs]. He never read one, really. So now it's kind of fun, he has to read this stuff, and it's been fun working with him on it. And I just like exploring this whole idea of something that's not in print, that they can only get online, and it's different from anything I'm doing in books, and I love that. It's sort of like inventing radio, isn't it? Kids don't know that, they don't know it's from 1945, right? [laughs] We've gotten a great response. I opened a message board on my website, rlstine.com, and I'm getting kids begging for more of them. Every day, I'm getting 20 or 30 requests saying "Oh, we loved it, we loved it, we listened to it with the lights out, we want more." So that's fun.
In 2003, the Guinness Book of World Records named you the number-one best-selling children?s book series author of all time. How did that make you feel?
R.L. Stine: What a great thing. It's the kind of thing you'd never dream about in your whole life. What happened with Goosebumps was amazing, and you can't really explain it. It just took off all over the world. It was one of these bizarre things. Anyway, it was very nice. I think I have to say, I'm now the best-selling children?s author of the twentieth century, but not of the twenty-first century [laughs]. I think I've been passed.
One final question, have you met your writing goal today?
R.L. Stine: [Laughs] I took the day off today. I worked all day yesterday. I've been working on the third Goosebumps book. I've been working all summer, I don't know why. I don't know what I'm doing here, but I'm churning them out.
It's been a pleasure talking to you.
R.L. Stine: KOL is really fun, and I'm really happy we're doing these audio things for KOL. I like the radio station too, [DJ Rick] is really nuts, isn't he? I've done his show two or three times, he's always funny.
We'll have to get you back on there, then.
R.L. Stine: That would be great. Okay, take care, thanks a lot.
