R L Stine Biography
Goosebumps cast a spell upon children by transforming even the most reluctant students into avid readers. Despite the fact that almost every book has a different collection of characters, the series has one common element that kids can't get enough of: THE AUTHOR! His ideas came from two sources: his memory and his imagination. “When I write, I try to think back to what I was afraid of or what was scary to me, and try to put those feelings into books.” He also keeps a tribal mask and a skeleton hanging in his writing studio to provide eerie surroundings. Although he handles the writing by himself, Stine says he gets “lots of help from my editors, my readers, and my friends.” Kids reading Goosebumps may be looking for a scare, but the laughs they get are no accident.
Before he was R.L., he was Jovial Bob, author of such works as 101 Silly Monster Jokes, and Bozos on Patrol and editor of Bananas magazine. His ability to know what kids will laugh at, as well as what will frighten them, makes the Goosebumps series all the more enjoyable for his readers.
Stan started writing at school and wrote for his high school newspaper in Columbus, Ohio. After graduating from Ohio State University, he moved to New York City, where he worked on a variety of writing jobs. Although his books are fun and exciting, writing them is serious stuff. He treats writing “…like a job.”
For aspiring authors, Stine feels reading is as important as writing. He offers this advice: “If you want to be a writer, don’t worry so much about writing. Read as much as you can. Read as many different writers as you can. Soak up the styles. You can learn all kinds of ways to say things.”
R L Stine Facts
Stine started writing when he was 9 years old! He would write stories and jokes on an old typewriter and hand them out at school. “The teacher would grab them and take them away,” Stine says, “but I kept doing it.”
To unwind after work Stine enjoys playing the pinball machine conveniently located in his own apartment.
As a boy he read Norse legends, Greek myths, Edgar Allan Poe and baseball stories. “And Mad Magazine changed my life” His favorite thriller? Something Wicked This Way Comes, by Ray Bradbury.
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