Fan Girl Friday: R.L. Stine

Anybody would look creepy at this angle.

R.L. Stine was a staple of my childhood. Every kid read Goosebumps, and later, we all graduated up to Fear Street. Even persnickety, contrarian kids like me read a R.L. Stine, whether we wanted to admit it or not. His books were everywhere. He was inescapable. You could not be a kid in the 90s without having read at least one Goosebumps book. My first one was The Haunted Mask and believe you me - it was terrifying for a kid of 10. And you are all aware of how I feel about Slappy the Dummy. Slappy the Dummy can just go. He can go far, far away.

So, what can we learn from R.L. Stine?

I think that his story teaches us that what looks like a bad idea can actually be a really good idea. My only criticism of Stine seems to be his biggest strength: The fact that all of the stories in his series stand alone. As a kid, it frustrated me that there was no continuity of characters from book to book, but apparently I was the only one who had a problem with this. Stein has made a career off of writing what the spirit moves him to and he's made a mint in the process. As an adult, I can do nothing but stand in awe of his tenacity and genius.

Speaking of his tenacity, how many people were writing horror for kids when he came on the scene? I'm going to say not many. While horror film was marketed to kids as early as the 1950s, R.L. Stine pretty much created the genre in kids literature. He was groundbreaking! I can't help but love him. Horror was my bread an butter as a kid. R.L. Stine paved the way for all the guys and girls who came after. Love her or hate her, without Stine there would be no Stephanie Meyer. True story.

He's also another one of those writers who made a career out of his craft and convinced me that I could do the same. Without his smiling face on that poster in my local library, I wouldn't be sitting here tip-tapping away at 7 AM on a Friday morning trying to make something of myself. The man has sold 400 million books, and 80 million copies of Fear Street alone. He is a publishing icon.

How did he manage it? Through hard work and perseverance. So can I. So can you. We just have to keep tip-tapping. We have to keep persevering. We have to keep our chins up. We can't quit. Rejection is going to happen. We have to keep going. Success will come, and if it doesn't, at least we'll know we gave it our best shot. How's that for a Friday morning pep talk? :-D

So go! Write Like a Rock Star!