The Beginning, The Middle, and the Twist: Writing Lessons from RL Stine

RL Stine is often acknowledged as the 90’s horrormeister for children, but he is rarely given much credit as a competent and (yes) talented writer. Stine himself often derides his work with humble criticisms, claiming that he is a hard-working wordsmith with little literary talent.

Say what you want about the quality of Stine’s prose. It is, I’ll argue, better than the critics give it credit for. Regardless, Stine is in a rare boat: author of two wildly successful series (Fear Street, aimed a...