Roald Dahl’s 8-Rule Formula for Bestselling Creative Writing

How to create a signature writing style

Roald Dahl’s books were some of my favorites as a child. They made me squirm, they filled me with wonder, they made me howl with laughter. I couldn’t get enough of them. And with 250 million copies sold worldwide, I’m not the only one they’ve had such a powerful impact upon.

Dahl wrote many of these books from a small writing hut in the garden behind his home in suburban Britain. Dahl spent four hours each day writing here. In addition to Dahl’s writing desk, the hut contained various curious objects. In the hut Dahl kept:

• A model of a WWII warplane
• A heavy metal ball filled with the silver wrappings of chocolate bars
• An ancient stone from Babylon with Cuneiform script
• A lamp weighted with a golf ball
• His own hipbone (removed during surgery)

According to the manager of the Roald Dahl Museum, Rachel White, these objects give us “a glimpse of how [Dahl] used a very private and personal space to allow his ideas and imagination to flow.” In other words, this quirky collection of objects acted as hooks and prompts for Dahl’s vivid imagination.

Dahl’s Imagination — Fueled by His Eight Rules for Writing

Dahl’s imagination was further fueled by his eight rules for writing.

These rules were as quirky as the objects Dahl kept in his hut, and created inner hooks and prompts Dahl needed to feed his writing muse. With this simple set of rules, he wrote 17 books for children that have made Dahl one of the bestselling children’s authors of all time.

Not only did Dahl’s rules for writing allow him a relatively prolific output. They’re also a big reason behind his enduring popularity — the rules brought a magic and uniqueness to his writing that makes his writing so engaging.

The eight rules are unusual; the first rule is “just add chocolate”. It’s the specificity of the rules that makes them all the more powerful. The unique rules give Dahl’s stories a distinct flavor while making him unlike any other children’s writer.

Reading the rules reminds me a bit of reading Dahl’s book George’s Marvellous Medicine, which tells how an eight-year-old boy combined a curious concoction of substances to create something magical.

So, what are these magical rules?

Roald Dahl’s 8-Rule Formula for Children's Fiction

Roald Dahl’s eight rules were outlined in the TV documentary Roald Dahl’s Revolting Rule Book, hosted by Richard E. Grant.

These rules are a reflection of Dahl’s quirky writing approach. The rules that have led to Dahl’s books selling hundreds of millions of copies are as follows:

1. Just add chocolate
2. Adults can be scary
3. Bad things happen
4. Revenge is sweet
5. Keep a wicked sense of humor
6. Pick perfect pictures
7. Films are fun…but books are better!
8. Food is fun!

Identify Your Writing Rules to Create a Signature Style

At first glance, Dahl’s rules seem pretty arbitrary. You might be thinking “I don’t want to write a clone of Roald Dahl’s books”. I agree. I wouldn’t recommend you follow these rules exactly as they’re written.

Instead, I’d suggest you create your own rules for writing. Find the ingredients in your writing that most strongly resonate with your readers, then mix those ingredients into every piece of content. As with Dahl’s rules, the more specific you are with your ingredients, the better.

Having rules to follow makes it easier for you to create content. You’ll always have a starting point from which to create every new piece. What’s more, your rules will strengthen your relationship with your readers. Your readers will come to know what to expect from your writing — and if they like what you create, they’ll share it around.

You can create endless content from a simple formula. The digital age in which we write makes it easier than ever before to do this.

4 Steps to Identify Your Unique Writing Rules

Step 1: Write

The first step is to write. A lot. This is to uncover your inner landscape. The best way to write when you’re starting out is simply to follow your interests, whatever draws your attention. You don’t need to decide a niche, or even have a particular style.

In simply writing, you allow your inner world space to breathe. Your writing will flow out of your unconscious, your obsessions, and what matters to you. Dahl’s formula reflects his own obsessions and life experience.

Much of Dahl’s writing can be seen as revenge for the arbitrary and sometimes vicious authority of adults he experienced as a child. For example, when Dahl was eight years old, his school headmasters caned him following a prank. Dahl and four of his friends had put a dead mouse in a jar of gobstopper candy at the local sweetshop. The “mean and loathsome” sweetshop owner had reported the boys to their school.

Step 2: See What Performs

Notice which pieces of content you create get the most views and engagement. Look closely at that content. Break it down:

• What was the topic of the article?
• Where was it published?
• What tags did you use?
• What structure did you follow?
• Who was it written for?
• Who were the main characters in the article? These could be people you quoted or referenced, or literally characters in any stories you told.
• What was the theme of the article?
• What was your writing style? Formal or informal? Long sentences or short?

As you analyze your most popular content in this way, you’ll start to see patterns emerge.

Step 3: Uncover Your Own Formula

By following steps one and two above, you’ll start to uncover your own writing formula. This is at the intersection of:

• Your own obsessions and interests — the things you most like to write about.
• Your readers' interests — the types of articles that most engage your readers.

Over the past decade as a writer, I’ve written and published hundreds of articles and stories. The more I write, the more I see patterns emerge in my writing. Each piece of content I create is an experiment. I pay attention to what performs well, and what resonates with readers.

As I look at the intersection between what connects with my readers, and what I repeatedly write about, patterns have emerged. That pattern is my formula, and now forms the basis of many of my articles.

Here are the essentials of what I’ve uncovered so far:

• I’m interested in creativity and helping my readers unlock their creative side.
• I’m fascinated by top achievers and outliers. I want to know the mindset that allowed them to reach great heights.
• I like stories with a deeper meaning, with a purpose to them. I like to be able to say “here’s a story, and this is the reason it matters”.

Step 4: Create Articles Following Your Formula

I have so many ideas for new content, it can feel overwhelming at times. Knowing my ingredients acts as a filter to all this noise.

I now know more of what I’m looking for when I listen to podcasts or read a book. I know what to stop and make a note about. It’s no longer everything that’s interesting, but a limited selection of what I listen to, and it still gives me much more material than I could ever write about.

When I’m sitting down to write an article, my formula gives me a focus for choosing what to write, and how to write about it.

Roald Dahl Had a Dream to Change the World — and You Can, Too

Roald Dahl dreamed of impacting children’s lives with his writing. He wanted to inspire children to read. In his novel Matilda, Dahl wrote: “Somewhere inside all of us is the power to change the world.”

He believed: “Books shouldn’t be daunting, they should be funny, exciting and wonderful.” His aim was to write books that would make children laugh, that children would want to share with their friends, and most importantly, that children would want to return to again and again.

Dahl’s simple-yet-quirky rules for writing were the driving force that allowed his books to have such a powerful impact on millions of lives.

You, too, can find your own rules for writing — and create words that change the world.

And if you want a touch of Dahl’s inspiration when you create your rules, keep in mind these words from his book Matilda:

‘Never do anything by halves if you want to get away with it. Be outrageous. Go the whole hog. Make sure everything you do is so completely crazy it’s unbelievable…’

“A little magic can take you a long way.” Dahl wrote in James and the Giant Peach. Dahl created a magical world with his words. You can too. So go, do it!