R. L. Stine

Believe it or not, my introduction to scary literature was 'Pinocchio.' My mother read it to me every day before naptime when I was three or four. The original 'Pinocchio' is terrifying.

I set a goal for myself everyday when I write - 10 pages a day - and it's much harder because I'm too dumb to turn off my Twitter and everything so it's always on and it's a real distraction. It's a major distraction.

Well, when I was 13, for my bar mitzvah I received my first typewriter. And that was special.

I have a cheat-sheet for each one of my characters about their personality, the way they look, etc. So there is no possible way that I could have writer's block.

After spending 22 years in Ohio, I love everything about New York.

At least I can write.

Kids think you just sit down and start writing. I always tell them you never do that.

Most fears are basic: fear of the dark, fear of going down in the basement, fear of weird sounds, fear that somebody is waiting for you in your closet. Those kinds of things stay with you no matter what age.

When I write for kids, I have to make sure they know what can't happen. They have to know it's a fantasy. But when I write for adults, they have to think it's real. Every detail has to be real or they won't buy it.

I've lived in New York for 40 years. I came right after college.

Making my class laugh and getting in trouble. I was the class clown.

I feel happy to terrify kids.

I used to get a haircut every Saturday so I would never miss any of the comic books. I had practically no hair when I was a kid!

I guess I'm way too kind and generous, and a saint - if you can believe that!

Read. Read. Read. Just don't read one type of book. Read different books by various authors so that you develop different styles.

When I was a kid, there were these great comic books called 'Tales From The Crypt' and 'The Vault of Horror.' They were gruesome. I discovered them in the barbershop and thought they were fabulous.

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.

Everything that has happened to me has been amazing and surprising.

I got the chance to do things that I dreamed of when I was a kid: I got to travel around the world; I had my own 'Goosebumps' attraction at Disney World; I've been on TV and had three TV series.