Read. Read. Read. Just don't read one type of book. Read different books by various authors so that you develop different style.

When I was a kid, there were these great comic books called 'Tales From The Crypt' and 'The Vault of Horror.' They were gruesome. I discovered them in the barbershop and thought they were fabulous.

I got the chance to do things that I dreamed of when I was a kid: I got to travel around the world; I had my own 'Goosebumps' attraction at Disney World; I've been on TV and had three TV series.

I haven't written a young-adult book in years. I'm also doing six 'Goosebumps' books a year now.

Believe it or not, my introduction to scary literature was 'Pinocchio.' My mother read it to me every day before naptime when I was three or four. The original 'Pinocchio' is terrifying.

When I write, I try to think back to what I was afraid of or what was scary to me, and try to put those feelings into books.