He is best known as the writer of the play Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead, which premiered Off-Broadway in 2005, and the 2010 teen film Easy A. Royal grew up in Green Cove Springs, Florida.
[4] Royal moved from Florida to New York City at the age of 21 after receiving an internship at the Public Theater.
[5] Following the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike, Royal wrote the spec script for the high school comedy film Easy A.
[2][5] He sold the script to Screen Gems almost immediately and the film commenced principal photography nine months later.
[2] After Easy A was released in September 2010, Royal wrote a television pilot set in Jacksonville, Florida, which was picked up and shot by MTV.