There Is Something Strange About My Brain: Writing Horror for Kids

by R.L. Stine

The story of R.L. Stine―just a “regular guy” who found his skill, got some luck, and became the famous writer he is today. Achievable, relatable, and more inspiring to new writers than the “You’ll never make it in this town, kid” stories we hear so often. He reflects on what being a writer means to him and how he’s learned a lot but ultimately has stuck to his trusty style and process.

Genres: Nonfiction, Writing

204 pages, Paperback

Published October 31, 2023

About the author

Robert Lawrence Stine known as R. L. Stine and Jovial Bob Stine, is an American novelist and writer, well known for targeting younger audiences. Stine, who is often called the Stephen King of children's literature, is the author of dozens of popular horror fiction novellas, including the books in the Goosebumps, Rotten School, Mostly Ghostly, The Nightmare Room and Fear Street series.

R. L. Stine began his writing career when he was nine years old, and today he has achieved the position of the bestselling children's author in history. In the early 1990s, Stine was catapulted to fame when he wrote the unprecedented, bestselling Goosebumps® series, which sold more than 250 million copies and became a worldwide multimedia phenomenon. His other major series, Fear Street, has over 80 million copies sold.

Stine has received numerous awards of recognition, including several Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards and Disney Adventures Kids' Choice Awards, and he has been selected by kids as one of their favorite authors in the NEA's Read Across America program. He lives in New York, NY.

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Reviews

[Peter Derk · Rating 3 out of 5]

R.L. Stine is basically like, "Adults can read books that are just for fun with no moral lesson, and kids have the same right."

Right on.

One of my least-favorite things was parents who would come into the library and be like, "All my son wants to read is Wimpy Kid books, I want him to read REAL books."

Fuck off, lady. I could never say that in person, but online I have keyboard muscles, and I will flex them hard: Fuck right off!

People who say that, I'm like, "Alright, but I better not find out you've been watching The Bachelor."

[Toilet Sweat · Rating 2 out of 5]

There Is Something Strange About My Tribe: Making Rent for Hacks

I’m just playing, Bob, you know I love you. But shame on Di Angelo Publications, specifically Sequoia Schmidt for harassing a religious minority until he deigned to evacuate this turd. What kind of person would subject a Jew to forced labor? Did you even bother to edit?? I must’ve counted no less than six million typos. Here’s hoping you were kind enough to give mein chaver his shoes back. That desert sand is way too hot for bare feet

[Daniel LeSaint · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite authors, I’m talking top 5 here. Stine has always claimed his primary motivator for writing is to get kids reading. Well it definitely worked for me. Come to think of it, it’s still working. I love his books now as an adult as much as I ever did as a young reader. This was a bit shorter than I anticipated yet it seems he got across everything he had to offer on the subject and I’m grateful for this book’s existence.

[Jacob Elliott · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun and super quick read that I found relatively inspiring as a writer. That being said, it wasn't QUITE what I was expecting or hoping for, and reading it on my kindle wasn't quite as engaging given that it wanted me to write on the page and do some writing exercises that way, but I still think it was quite a good time.

[Pulp_Fiction_Books · Rating 3 out of 5]

Stine gives tips for writing children's books but he doesn't follow 90% of them himself. If he did he'd probably be a better writer.

[Justin Tate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stine superfans may not encounter much new material in this book of 62 tips (a fitting number) on writing. Each tip is only a few paragraphs long, but effective at getting inside the strange brain of one of the world's bestselling authors.

Much of the information is a repackaging of Stine's past speeches and his MasterClass on writing. As we might expect, it's an easy-to-digest self-help book. A large chunk of the pages are blank, so you can write in responses to his writing prompts.

By far the most fascinating entry is inclusion of an editor's brutal response to the first draft of Slime Doesn't Pay. It's nice to see that even an iconic, mega author like Stine receives such blunt feedback. I read Slime Doesn't Pay recently so I understood where the notes were coming from--and was pleased to see that Stine used every suggestion in the final product.

There's also an exciting list of Stine's favorite books and further recommended reading. I always love a book list, especially when it comes from my favorite authors. He includes some daring titles and forgotten classics, much to my surprise and delight.

Unlike most of Stine's books, which are published by giants in the industry, this is the product of a small independent press. There's an afterward where the publisher's founder describes her desperate multiple attempts to land a book deal with Stine before he finally relented.

While it's cool to see Stine use his authorial power to help little publishers as well, there are signs in the quality control that we're dealing with someone of less experience. At least in the eBook edition, there were multiple formatting issues which made the text difficult to read. I don't know if the same problems are found in the paperback, but I definitely wish I had gotten the physical edition. Also, on Amazon the author has been listed as "R.L. Stine Stine" for months. Is no one going to get that corrected??

Problems aside, still highly recommended for fans and aspiring writers!

[Jonathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a good book about how to use your writing skill. I personally don’t think anyone can be a writer anymore than everyone becoming a musician. You have to have a desire to write and a borderless imagination. If you have that, this book has great tips to sharpen your skill.

This is basically R. L. Stine’s version of ‘On Writing’ by Stephen King. Except Stine’s book is more about writing for young readers. Whether you write horror or not, this book still gives good advice on becoming a good writer.

If you have any desire to become a writer, this is a good read.

The main part of the book is short. He doesn’t fill the whole book on writing advice. The other half of the book is for writing story ideas and other tools.

[Kaycee Racer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked this up because I wanted to have some insight into Stine's writing mind after re-examining his works as an adult and loving them all over again. I'm so glad I read There Is Something Strange About My Brain! I found new confidence in my skill as a writer. Although there were things I already knew and had learned before, I think the simplicity of the writing advice helped me really understand the craft and gave me motivation to finish my next first draft.

[Eddie · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent book of simple writing tips for anyone who’s looking to write for kids or teens. R. L Stine distills his decades of experience into a short easy to read book. This book also provides writing promos and further reading suggestions to help any new author level up!

[Erin Nudi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Practical advice written in his usual style - in other words, a kid could read this book and get something out of it. You can tell it's a different publisher, though - several cringe worthy typos and grammatical errors.

[Trista · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. R.L. Stine is one of my favorite authors. He’s a great writer and a nice guy. It’s interesting to read about his writing process. The first 80-ish pages are a concise how-to for writing, sprinkled with how he does things personally. Writing prompts and book recommendations follow.

However, the typos were plentiful. I hope the editor/publisher will fix those.

[Lacy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have no interest in writing and read this because I lived goosebumps as a kid. I couldn’t love this author more. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this and seeing a little how his mind works.