How to Write Children’s Books Like David Walliams Using AI Prompts
✨ Ever wondered how David Walliams crafts such hilarious children’s books? Now you can do it too—with AI prompts! 🚀📚 #WritingTips #ChildrensBooks #AmWriting
Children’s books are a gateway to imagination, a place where the absurd meets the heartfelt, where adventure and humor collide. If you’re looking to craft a book that captures young readers’ hearts like David Walliams, you’re in for a ride filled with eccentric characters, laugh-out-loud humor, and just the right dose of emotional depth.
Today, we’ll explore how to:
Create memorable and exaggerated characters that children adore.
Build engaging, high-stakes plots filled with humor and heart.
Use humor effectively, including the art of toilet humor.
Balance fun with emotional depth to create lasting impact.
Structure your book for maximum engagement.
Let me start by breaking down the magic behind a great children’s book.
The Magic of Over-the-Top Characters
Children love bold, exaggerated characters. Walliams’ books are filled with characters who feel larger than life yet emotionally relatable. Whether it’s the disgustingly stinky Mr. Stink or the jewel-stealing Gangsta Granny, these characters leave a lasting impression.
How to Create Memorable Characters
Make Them Extreme: Take a single characteristic and push it to the limit. If they’re mean, make them comically wicked (like Miss Trunchbull in Matilda). If they’re kind, make them unbelievably generous, such as Raj the newsagent in multiple Walliams books, whose generosity often lands him in ridiculous situations.
Give Them a Signature Quirk: Whether it’s an obsession with a specific food (like Bruce Bogtrotter’s chocolate cake in Matilda) or a bizarre habit (like Grandpa in Grandpa’s Great Escape thinking he’s still in World War II), quirks make characters unforgettable.
Use Funny, Unique Names: Walliams employs playful, evocative names like Aunt Alberta (Awful Auntie) or Burt (Ratburger). Names should hint at personality traits without being too obvious. “Miss Root” (Demon Dentist) immediately signals something sinister about her.
Example in Action
In Billionaire Boy, Joe Spud is absurdly rich, but his wealth doesn’t bring him happiness. His journey to find real friendship resonates with young readers because, while his situation is extreme, his emotions are relatable. The exaggeration—his father literally making his fortune by inventing a new kind of toilet paper—adds to the humor and charm.
Plot: High Stakes, Big Emotions
Walliams’ stories have high-stakes, page-turning plots. They take ordinary kids and throw them into outrageous situations, but always with an emotional core that keeps readers invested.
Essential Elements of a Great Plot
A relatable protagonist: The main character should feel like a real kid, even if their situation is exaggerated.
A strong goal: What does your hero desperately want? In Grandpa’s Great Escape, Jack wants to rescue his grandpa from a terrible nursing home.
Escalating obstacles: Every chapter should throw new challenges at the protagonist. Keep the stakes high, whether it’s a strict headmaster (Demon Dentist) or an evil babysitter (The World’s Worst Children).
An emotional hook: The best Walliams books mix humor with real heart. Mr. Stink isn’t just about a smelly tramp; it’s about kindness and acceptance.
Example in Action
In Gangsta Granny, Ben starts off thinking his grandmother is boring, only to discover she was once an international jewel thief. This revelation transforms his world, throwing him into an adventure that is both hilarious and touching. The combination of humor (a granny doing heists!) and emotion (a boy realizing he never truly appreciated his grandmother) makes the story unforgettable.
Humor: The Walliams Way
Humor is the heart of Walliams’ writing. He doesn’t talk down to kids; instead, he embraces absurdity, slapstick, and yes, fart jokes.
Types of Humor That Work
Toilet Humor: From The Twits to The World’s Worst Children, nothing makes kids laugh like a well-placed fart joke. In The World’s Worst Children, Walliams introduces “Windy Mindy,” a girl whose flatulence can propel her into the air like a rocket.
Wordplay & Silly Names: Names like “Windy Mindy” and ridiculous menus in Billionaire Boy add humor with language itself.
Exaggeration & Absurdity: A school principal who moonlights as a ninja? A cat who runs a secret spy agency? The more outlandish, the better.
Grown-Ups Are the Worst: Walliams, like Dahl before him, taps into kids’ belief that adults are clueless. His villains are hilariously evil, whether it’s the terrifying Miss Root or the dreadful Aunt Alberta.
Example in Action
A school cafeteria serves only one dish: Brussels sprouts. The lunch lady claims they make kids stronger, but in reality, they’re turning them into zombies. Ridiculous? Yes. Hilarious? Also yes.
Balancing Fun and Emotion
The best children’s books aren’t just funny—they hit an emotional chord. Gangsta Granny isn’t just about a jewel-heist, it’s about appreciating family before it’s too late. The Boy in the Dress is about self-expression and acceptance.
How to Add Heart
Give the hero an emotional struggle: Maybe they’re lonely, scared, or missing someone.
Let humor enhance the emotion: A funny scene right before a sad one makes both more powerful.
End with a satisfying resolution: Even if everything isn’t perfect, the hero should have grown in some way.
Structure: Keeping Kids Hooked
Walliams’ books keep kids turning pages with short, snappy chapters and cliffhanger endings. Every chapter feels like a mini-adventure, with a hook that makes it impossible to stop reading.
Quick Tips for Engaging Structure
Short chapters: Kids love the feeling of progress.
Cliffhangers: End each chapter with a surprise, question, or danger.
Fast pacing: Keep descriptions tight and the action moving.
Example in Action
At the end of a chapter, the protagonist opens a mysterious door in their school’s basement—only to find… and that’s where the chapter ends. The reader has to turn the page.
Final Thoughts
Writing like David Walliams isn’t about copying his humor or characters—it’s about embracing the joy of storytelling. Create wild, unforgettable characters, throw them into outrageous situations, make kids laugh, and, most importantly, make them feel.
Next, I’ll break down some AI prompts that will help you brainstorm characters, plot twists, and hilarious situations in record time. Let’s bring your children’s book to life!
AI Prompts for Writing Like David Walliams
Now that we've explored the core elements of writing a Walliams-style children's book, let's dive into advanced AI prompts that will help you craft your own quirky, hilarious, and heartfelt story. These prompts will guide you through brainstorming characters, building a strong plot, incorporating humor, and balancing emotional depth.
Generating Plot Ideas for Children’s Books
Prompt:
Indicate the typical age range of your readers (e.g., early readers 5-7, middle-grade 8-12, or upper middle-grade 10-13). Generate five unique plot ideas suitable for this audience, ensuring they are action-packed, humorous, and emotionally engaging.
Follow-up Prompt:
Expand plot ideas X into a one-paragraph summary, including the main character, their challenge, and the adventure they embark on.
Creating Over-the-Top Characters
Prompt:
Using this plot summary, generate [three] additional character ideas that would fit well in this story. For each character, describe their name, appearance, exaggerated personality trait, and a quirky habit. [add plot summary].
Follow-up Prompt:
Expand on these characters by generating a detailed backstory, including their biggest dream, worst fear, and a funny or unexpected secret they keep from others.
Building High-Stakes, Big-Emotion Plots
Prompt:
[Describe your story’s protagonist, their biggest problem, and a humorous or exaggerated challenge they face.] Generate three escalating obstacles that increase tension while keeping the tone light and funny.
Follow-up Prompt:
Provide a solution for the protagonist’s dilemma, ensuring that it ties into the book’s core message or emotional arc. Offer two possible endings—one conventional, one completely absurd.
Injecting Walliams-Style Humor
Prompt:
Given this plot summary, generate a humorous scene where the protagonist has an awkward or ridiculous encounter with an authority figure. Use exaggerated dialogue and slapstick [add summary.]
Follow-up Prompt:
Rewrite the same scene from the authority figure’s perspective. Add humorous misunderstandings, over-the-top reactions, and unintended consequences.
Balancing Fun with Emotion
Prompt:
[Describe an important emotional moment in your story.] Generate two versions—one where the humor enhances the moment and one where it contrasts the emotional weight.
Follow-up Prompt:
Develop a resolution to this emotional moment that maintains humor but delivers a meaningful takeaway for young readers.
Structuring for Maximum Engagement
Prompt:
Provide an opening scene idea, and generate three different first lines that would hook a young reader immediately. One should be action-packed, one should be bizarre, and one should use dialogue. [insert story summary, character information.]
Follow-up Prompt:
Expand on the opening by generating a first paragraph that introduces tension, humor, or an intriguing mystery.
Final Close: Bringing It All Together
Writing like David Walliams means embracing the unexpected, filling your world with hilarity, and balancing all the fun with a big heart. The best children’s books make kids laugh until their sides hurt, but they also make them feel—whether that’s excitement, empathy, or even a little bit of sadness.
By using these AI prompts, you can generate endless ideas for quirky characters, outrageous plots, and hilarious dialogue. The key is to mix absurdity with real emotion, ensuring that behind every joke, there’s a meaningful story that keeps kids coming back for more.
So, grab your notebook, fire up these prompts, and start crafting your very own Walliams-style masterpiece. And remember—if in doubt, add a fart joke. It’s a guaranteed hit.