Sin, Formality, and Snicket

How does writing for children compare to writing for adults?

They feel like the same thing to me. I think of children's literature as being a sort of genre, so writing a children's book is like writing a mystery novel – some things you have to put into it, otherwise it doesn't qualify. And there are things that don't belong in it or else it doesn't qualify, but other than that, it feels like the same thing.

Daniel Handler in conversation at the LA Times.