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00:00If you're a horror writer people think your whole life is horror. I go to the ballet. They're horrified by that. You're supposed to be scary all the time
00:12How did you decide to become a writer or when when did you decide that this is what you wanted to do?
00:17Nine years old this weird kid. I'm in my room typing typing stories. Why? I don't know. Why did I like it so much?
00:25I have no idea why and I'd be in typing joke books typing these little comics
00:31Typing and my parents didn't understand it at all. My mother would be at my door. She'd say what's wrong with you?
00:38What's wrong with you stop typing and go outside and play?
00:43Worst advice I ever got the Fear Street um
00:46Series was sort of like the first big horror thing that you did cuz that came up before yeah
00:51I did some individual time yes see I was funny
00:54Mm-hmm I I never planned to be scary never planned to write horror
00:59It's kind of embarrassing because it wasn't my idea okay
01:02It was I was having lunch with the editorial director at Scholastic
01:07Mm-hmm and she just had a fight with a guy who wrote teen horror okay, and she said I'm never working with him again
01:14You go home write a book called blind date write a teen horror
01:18I didn't know what she was talking about what's a teen horror novel and but at those days you never said no to anything
01:24They oh sure no problem
01:26And I went running to the bookstore to find out what people were doing and I wrote this book blind date
01:32It was a number one bestseller. Wait a minute. What's happening here?
01:36Forget the funny stuff. I'll be scary and that's really how it happened. So you're writing the Fear Street books
01:42How did the idea for a goose bumps come along again? That wasn't my idea?
01:47Nothing's ever my idea. I know this is horribly embarrassing Fear Street was doing really well and we were doing a Fear Street every month and
01:55Killing off a lot of teenagers people love it people love that when you kill teenagers and my editors
02:02My wife and her business partner said we should try a scary book series for 7 to 12 year olds
02:09It's never been done before and I said no, that's the kind of businessman. I am I said I don't want to do it
02:16I didn't want to do goosebumps. You believe that crazy they kept after me and kept after me and finally I said
02:23All right, if I can think of a good name for the series
02:26We can try two or three
02:2933 years later
02:31That shows so you came up with the name goosebumps reading TV guide and in those days
02:36They had the TV listings in the middle of the magazine
02:39Everything that was on television and there was a little ad at the bottom of the page and it said it's
02:46Goosebumps week on Channel 11 and I just stared at it. I said it's perfect. We'll call it Channel 11. That's a bad joke
02:55right
02:57Now that's where the name goosebumps came from from that little ad
03:00I just I knew it was funny and scary and not too scary and where the books instantly like a success
03:06No, we put out two or three in the beginning and they just sat on the shelves today in the computer age. This is 1992
03:13I think stores would have just ripped them taking them away, but they sat there and then somehow
03:20Kids discovered them some secret kids network because there was no hype no advertising
03:26Kids just discovered the books goosebumps and took them into school and showed their friends
03:32And it just took off thanks to kids all over the world. It was amazing
03:36And when did you sort of realize wait a second like this is a phenomenon?
03:41Here's when I knew things were getting weird, okay
03:44I was in my hometown Columbus, Ohio and I was going to a book signing some borders or Barnes & Noble and
03:51And I was in a terrible traffic jam and I was really nervous. I hate being late
03:56I didn't want to be late for my signing and I looked around and the cars were all filled with kids
04:02It was my traffic jam
04:04I caused the traffic jam. That's when I knew that's when I knew it was a hit you've written so many
04:11How do you come up with the ideas for them?
04:13Yeah, I don't even try to think of ideas because I've done everything. Yeah, there's nothing left
04:18And I would seriously what I do now is I just try to think of titles
04:23I this is backwards for most authors right most authors get their title later
04:28I have to start with a title I think of the title and
04:32Then it leads me to a story. How long does it take you to write one?
04:36Well, you know, I outline every book. Okay, everyone hates outline. Yeah, no one wants to hear that
04:42But I can't work without it right and I spend about a week on the outline
04:46Okay, I do every chapter one. This is what happens chapter head
04:50This is the chapter ending and I out so when I sit down to write the book
04:55I know everything that's going to happen. I've done all the hard part
04:59I've done the thinking and then I can write the book and usually these days takes about three weeks and how well do you remember?
05:07The books that you've written now. Well, I have very good editors. Okay
05:10Yeah, they say Bob you did that number 12
05:15Bob you did that you already used that title twice
05:19You know, they helped me out because it's too many books
05:22What is the like the oddest thing or the weirdest thing you've put into a book that you look back and you're like?
05:27Oh, that was sort of a strange right?
05:29Well, the newest Goosebumps book which is called say my name say my name
05:35Nothing like stealing from beyond. Yeah, right has a talking fish in it. Okay. I don't know how I got away with that
05:42That's that's pretty strange are there books that you've written that you think oh this one would be a good movie
05:48Like maybe they should never think about that. It's so
05:52Never try to think about the movie so it took 23 years for the Goosebumps movie to get made
05:57So you just you can't really count on that. What did you think when you found out that Jack Black was going to be playing you?
06:02Well, I was thrilled. I yeah, he's wonderful guy
06:06But a lot of people a lot of people on Twitter and everything said you should play yourself
06:12You don't need Jack Black who knows you better than you
06:16You should play yourself in the movie and I went to my wife Jane
06:19I said Jane a lot of people think I should play myself in the movie and she said you're too old to play yourself
06:27Did he meet up and chat with you beforehand in New York to meet me in a blizzard?
06:32Okay, and we had lunch. He was just staring at me staring at me. He said Bob
06:38What in the script is true about you and I said not a thing?
06:43Not a single thing. He said I'm gonna play a sinister version of you
06:48And that's what he did you get compared to Stephen King a lot
06:51Have the two of you guys ever met or do you want to talk to each other often?
06:55I was just saying I I'm Stephen King for kids, right? Yeah, and I didn't meet him for 30 years
07:00He never comes down from Maine, but I met him at an Edgar Awards
07:05Banquet and we had a really nice talk and I said to him Steve
07:08Did you know that a magazine once called me a training bra for you?
07:14Which is true? He said yes, I know then he accused me of taking every amusement park plot and not leaving any for anybody
07:24So what do you do when you're not writing? Well, I live in New York. It's a lot to do. Yeah, you know
07:30I enjoy the city. Mm-hmm. What are your favorite people don't you know
07:34I'm supposed to be into horror if you're a horror writer people think your whole life is horror
07:39Mm-hmm. So if I say I have an opera subscription, you know, I live near right near Lincoln City
07:45I go to the ballet. They're horrified by that. No one was no one wants to hear that
07:50You're supposed to be scary all the time