This week YA Author Rob Renzetti took over our Twitter as a part of our weekly Thursday Twitter Takeover. Rob Renzetti is the author of The Horrible Bag of Terrible Things. (See YEM’s interview with Rob Renzetti here.) See highlights from the takeover below.
Hello @YoungEntmag fans! I’m Rob Renzetti (@RobRenzetti) cartoon maker and author. My latest book THE HORRIBLE BAG OF TERRIBLE THINGS came out two weeks back. I’m taking over this here Twitter account for a couple hours. So you all don’t make any sudden moves #YAauthorTakeover pic.twitter.com/JAnmJBlAfd
— Young Entertainment Mag (@YoungEntmag) August 4, 2023
Actually, you can leave whenever you like. But if you stick around I’ll tell you a little bit about how I got into the writing biz and ended up where I am today! (Sitting in a darkened room, typing messages to imaginary people living inside my computer.) #YAauthorTakeover pic.twitter.com/zPF2jv4Toh
— Young Entertainment Mag (@YoungEntmag) August 4, 2023
In case you’re wondering what I look like. #YAauthorTakeover pic.twitter.com/xyWvzMhnCu
— Young Entertainment Mag (@YoungEntmag) August 4, 2023
I’ve been drawing cartoon characters and making up stories for them since I was a little kid. Here’s an early effort – the first comic book featuring that legendary cartoon superstar, Carcy Coyote. #YAauthorTakeover pic.twitter.com/1BNVEe3GQz
— Young Entertainment Mag (@YoungEntmag) August 4, 2023
Much to my father’s chagrin, I decided I wanted to make animated cartoons for a living. Much to my father’s surprise, I was actually ABLE to make animated cartoons for a living. #YAauthorTakeover pic.twitter.com/gDUWbPpGDL
— Young Entertainment Mag (@YoungEntmag) August 4, 2023
I’ve worked on lots of shows, and I’ve always been involved in the writing side of things. Whether it’s coming up with simple gags, inventing story ideas or writing full scripts. FUN FACT: I also always wear a tie and suspenders whenever I pitch a storyboard.#YAauthorTakeover pic.twitter.com/D5mKMfNoWn
— Young Entertainment Mag (@YoungEntmag) August 4, 2023
The fact that I liked to dress like Walt Disney eventually led to a job at Disney Television Animation working on a wonderful show called #GravityFalls created by the mad genius @_AlexHirsch (who likes to dress like a lumberjack) #YAauthorTakeover pic.twitter.com/6WZ57CJJOn
— Young Entertainment Mag (@YoungEntmag) August 4, 2023
#GravityFalls was a hit and Disney decided they wanted to do some books. So I threw my hat into the ring and, after getting my hat back because my bald head gets cold, I was able to co-write my first book! #YAauthorTakeover pic.twitter.com/7yq7uJCeuN
— Young Entertainment Mag (@YoungEntmag) August 4, 2023
FUN FACT: My co-author on DIPPER’S & MABELS GUIDE TO MYSTERY & NONSTOP FUN was @shanehoughton co-creator of #BigCityGreens #YAauthorTakeover pic.twitter.com/82U2D7MZ0c
— Young Entertainment Mag (@YoungEntmag) August 4, 2023
#GravityFalls was the most complex show I’d ever been involved with, and we STILL couldn't fit all the ideas we had into the series. That’s why Alex and I were extremely excited when Disney asked us to co-author GRAVITY FALLS: JOURNAL 3 #YAauthorTakeover pic.twitter.com/oKqMu0W9sS
— Young Entertainment Mag (@YoungEntmag) August 4, 2023
Pages from Journal 3 had appeared in multiple episodes of the show. We showed the same pages over and over again but the pages never seemed to be in the same order in the book. I had to figure out what the “correct” order of the journal pages should be. #YAauthorTakeover
— Young Entertainment Mag (@YoungEntmag) August 4, 2023
Although many pages did appear in #GravityFalls the published version of JOURNAL 3 was going to be quite a bit longer. We had a lot of room to deepen and expand the storyline from the show and things often took a dark turn. #YAauthorTakeover pic.twitter.com/vAoAZ2D3cr
— Young Entertainment Mag (@YoungEntmag) August 4, 2023
I wrote two more books for Disney. I loved getting to write something connected to #DuckTales because Uncle Scrooge is my favorite comic book character of all time. And working on a book based off the Pixar film #Onward was an incredible honor and thrill. #YAauthorTakeover pic.twitter.com/ysY7017sfz
— Young Entertainment Mag (@YoungEntmag) August 4, 2023
But the combination of horror and humor in GRAVITY FALLS: JOURNAL 3 had whetted my appetite for more of the same. I decided I wanted to do something else that would make kids (and adults) laugh with glee but also shiver in terror. #YAauthorTakeover pic.twitter.com/UtzrOhloRn
— Young Entertainment Mag (@YoungEntmag) August 4, 2023
Let’s delve a little deeper into the spooky side of things shall we? #YAauthorTakeover pic.twitter.com/9mZO3F6XGX
— Young Entertainment Mag (@YoungEntmag) August 4, 2023
I had my first real encounter with a monster by accident. My mother and I were visiting a friend of hers and the friend’s much older teenaged kids were watching the classic horror movie #Dracula I walked in just as the vampire appeared on screen. #YAauthorTakeover pic.twitter.com/JLr1uUdzYQ
— Young Entertainment Mag (@YoungEntmag) August 4, 2023
Dracula kept me up late at night for many moons. I was terrified I would be bitten by the Count. Ironically, it was another horror movie that allowed me to sleep peacefully again. #frankenstein convinced me that I could befriend the Monster and it protect me #YAauthorTakeover pic.twitter.com/wAmTFNXp3z
— Young Entertainment Mag (@YoungEntmag) August 4, 2023
Later on I would turn my own experiences into my first original cartoon idea. Mina and the Count tells the story of a young girl who conquers a monstrous vampire with friendship. #YAauthorTakeover pic.twitter.com/s5yTfzXHX4
— Young Entertainment Mag (@YoungEntmag) August 4, 2023
BTW I was still a scaredy cat when it came to scary movies. I remember hiding behind my mom on our living room couch when the wooden warrior doll came alive in "Trilogy of Terror” #YAauthorTakeover pic.twitter.com/Jzs1SOvqsg
— Young Entertainment Mag (@YoungEntmag) August 4, 2023
My tastes changed and my fears lessened as I grew older. I fell in love with the films of Alfred Hitchcock, who dealt with the macabre in a somewhat gentler way. At least that’s what I thought until I stumbled onto “Psycho” #YAauthorTakeover pic.twitter.com/qNEorRYnJU
— Young Entertainment Mag (@YoungEntmag) August 4, 2023
Eventually I grew to love horror stories of all shapes and sizes and in all forms of media. The first horror author that I fell in love with was Edgar Allen Poe #YAauthorTakeover pic.twitter.com/Bu4U0BuRNm
— Young Entertainment Mag (@YoungEntmag) August 4, 2023
Now, rather than hiding behind my mom, I was begging her to get out of my way and allow me to go see #Jaws. She insisted I was too young. She was right. #YAauthorTakeover pic.twitter.com/0xOx1qL5SV
— Young Entertainment Mag (@YoungEntmag) August 4, 2023
Of course, now #Jaws is my favorite movie of all time followed very closely by #TheThing Thanks @TheHorrorMaster #YAauthorTakeover pic.twitter.com/PGrhF3ozcQ
— Young Entertainment Mag (@YoungEntmag) August 4, 2023
So I’ve co-written JOURNAL 3 with @_AlexHirsch and I’m looking for something original to write in the horror fantasy genre. One evening my wonderful wife looks at a paper grocery bag filled with old paperwork and calls it “the horrible bag of terrible things” #YAauthorTakeover pic.twitter.com/SOAWRhw1gK
— Young Entertainment Mag (@YoungEntmag) August 4, 2023
I had my title! The idea of a bag filled with terrible things unleashed a ton of ideas. I was also very pleased because it reminded me of Felix the Cat’s bag of tricks. One of my favorite cartoon devices. #YAauthorTakeover pic.twitter.com/SspBWUMoCK
— Young Entertainment Mag (@YoungEntmag) August 4, 2023
But although terrible things do come out of the horrible bag, there’s a whole hidden world of creepy characters waiting inside and the hero of the story, Zenith Maelstrom, has to venture to the bizarre realm of GrahBhag to save his kidnapped sister Apogee #YAauthorTakeover
— Young Entertainment Mag (@YoungEntmag) August 4, 2023
I spent my spare hours writing many drafts of THE HORRIBLE BAG OF TERRIBLE THINGS and, when my agent @RubinPf and I thought it was ready, we showed it to @WorkshopBooks who agreed to publish it. Perhaps this image of one of the terrible things convinced them #YAauthorTakeover pic.twitter.com/YK8jzt5bVq
— Young Entertainment Mag (@YoungEntmag) August 4, 2023
Or maybe it was this one #YAauthorTakeover pic.twitter.com/mChpfeYLMH
— Young Entertainment Mag (@YoungEntmag) August 4, 2023
Thanks for reading along during my #YAauthorTakeover I'm @RobRenzetti and I now return you to your regular programming. pic.twitter.com/IEqHyZIbPI
— Young Entertainment Mag (@YoungEntmag) August 4, 2023
— Young Entertainment Mag (@YoungEntmag) August 4, 2023
