8 answers
elizabeth
Student
Imperial, California
3
Questions
Updated
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Is being funny important in creative writing? If so, how? And how can I learn to be more funny with my writing?
Hello, I'm trying to be more creative and entertaining with my writing.
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8 answers
James Constantine Frangos
Consultant Dietitian & Software Developer since 1972 => Nutrition Education => Health & Longevity.
3766
Answers
Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia
Updated
James Constantine’s Answer
Dear Elizabeth,
The Role of Humor in Creative Writing: Is It Essential?
In the realm of creative writing, humor serves as a potent tool that can amplify the engagement and overall effect of your work. Injecting humor into your writing not only captures the reader's interest but also makes your content more memorable and establishes an emotional rapport with your audience. Furthermore, humor can simplify complex ideas, making them more palatable and entertaining for the reader.
How Does Humor Amplify the Impact of Creative Writing?
Engagement: Humor has the unique ability to enchant readers, sustaining their interest in the narrative or message being shared. It can disrupt the uniformity of grave topics, offering a refreshing and delightful reading journey.
Memorability: Humorous elements in creative writing often linger in the reader's memory. This enhances the memorability of your content, leaving a long-lasting impact on your audience.
Emotional Bond: Humor can stir emotions such as happiness, amusement, or empathy in readers. By weaving humor into your creative writing, you can form a more profound emotional bond with your audience, making them more open to the core message.
Relatability: Humorous anecdotes or situations in creative writing can strike a chord with readers on a personal level. When readers find humor they can relate to, it fosters a sense of shared experience and understanding between you and your audience.
How Can You Hone Your Humorous Writing Skills?
Analyze Humorous Writing: Delve into works by acclaimed humorists and comedians to grasp different humor styles and comedic techniques. Examine how they manipulate language, timing, and wit to generate humor in their writing.
Experiment with Humor: Try infusing humor into your writing. Begin by incorporating light-hearted elements, witty comments, or comedic situations into your work. Practice crafting jokes, puns, or humorous dialogues to sharpen your comedic prowess.
Request Feedback: Share your humorous writing with others and solicit feedback. Constructive input from colleagues or mentors can help you pinpoint areas for enhancement and fine-tune your comedic tone. Stay attuned to what resonates with your audience and modify your approach as needed.
Participate in Workshops or Classes: Think about joining creative writing workshops or classes that emphasize humor writing. These sessions can offer invaluable insights, guidance, and exercises to help you refine your comedic writing abilities.
Observe Daily Life: Keep an eye on everyday situations, conversations, or observations that amuse you. Drawing inspiration from real-life experiences can lend authenticity and relatability to your humorous writing.
By skillfully weaving humor into your creative writing, you can boost its appeal, engage readers on a deeper level, and leave a lasting impression through laughter and entertainment.
Top 3 Credible Sources Used:
The New Yorker - Renowned for its superior literary content, The New Yorker features humorous essays, satirical pieces, and witty commentary on a variety of topics.
Writer’s Digest - A valuable resource for writers aiming to hone their craft, Writer’s Digest offers tips on infusing humor into writing and developing comedic abilities.
Harvard Business Review - While primarily business-centric, Harvard Business Review frequently publishes articles on effective communication strategies, including the use of humor to engage audiences in writing.
These sources provided insights on the significance of humor in creative writing and practical tips for enhancing comedic elements in written work.
Stay blessed!
James Constantine.
The Role of Humor in Creative Writing: Is It Essential?
In the realm of creative writing, humor serves as a potent tool that can amplify the engagement and overall effect of your work. Injecting humor into your writing not only captures the reader's interest but also makes your content more memorable and establishes an emotional rapport with your audience. Furthermore, humor can simplify complex ideas, making them more palatable and entertaining for the reader.
How Does Humor Amplify the Impact of Creative Writing?
Engagement: Humor has the unique ability to enchant readers, sustaining their interest in the narrative or message being shared. It can disrupt the uniformity of grave topics, offering a refreshing and delightful reading journey.
Memorability: Humorous elements in creative writing often linger in the reader's memory. This enhances the memorability of your content, leaving a long-lasting impact on your audience.
Emotional Bond: Humor can stir emotions such as happiness, amusement, or empathy in readers. By weaving humor into your creative writing, you can form a more profound emotional bond with your audience, making them more open to the core message.
Relatability: Humorous anecdotes or situations in creative writing can strike a chord with readers on a personal level. When readers find humor they can relate to, it fosters a sense of shared experience and understanding between you and your audience.
How Can You Hone Your Humorous Writing Skills?
Analyze Humorous Writing: Delve into works by acclaimed humorists and comedians to grasp different humor styles and comedic techniques. Examine how they manipulate language, timing, and wit to generate humor in their writing.
Experiment with Humor: Try infusing humor into your writing. Begin by incorporating light-hearted elements, witty comments, or comedic situations into your work. Practice crafting jokes, puns, or humorous dialogues to sharpen your comedic prowess.
Request Feedback: Share your humorous writing with others and solicit feedback. Constructive input from colleagues or mentors can help you pinpoint areas for enhancement and fine-tune your comedic tone. Stay attuned to what resonates with your audience and modify your approach as needed.
Participate in Workshops or Classes: Think about joining creative writing workshops or classes that emphasize humor writing. These sessions can offer invaluable insights, guidance, and exercises to help you refine your comedic writing abilities.
Observe Daily Life: Keep an eye on everyday situations, conversations, or observations that amuse you. Drawing inspiration from real-life experiences can lend authenticity and relatability to your humorous writing.
By skillfully weaving humor into your creative writing, you can boost its appeal, engage readers on a deeper level, and leave a lasting impression through laughter and entertainment.
Top 3 Credible Sources Used:
The New Yorker - Renowned for its superior literary content, The New Yorker features humorous essays, satirical pieces, and witty commentary on a variety of topics.
Writer’s Digest - A valuable resource for writers aiming to hone their craft, Writer’s Digest offers tips on infusing humor into writing and developing comedic abilities.
Harvard Business Review - While primarily business-centric, Harvard Business Review frequently publishes articles on effective communication strategies, including the use of humor to engage audiences in writing.
These sources provided insights on the significance of humor in creative writing and practical tips for enhancing comedic elements in written work.
Stay blessed!
James Constantine.
Jelly Bean
designer
1
Answer
London, England, United Kingdom
Updated
Jelly’s Answer
Adding humour to creative writing can improve reader connection, increase engagement, and give narrative depth. Humour makes the story more accessible and interesting for readers, leaving them with memorable and enjoyable experiences. It takes knowledge of comedic devices like timing, wit, and wordplay to write humorous prose. Examine humorous writing styles, explore humour in everyday situations, and try out various comedic techniques in your own work. Master the craft of humour in creative writing and hone your comic style with advice and criticism from experts, such as those provided by Book Formatting Services.
Bob Stevens
Creative, Design, Writing, Marketing, Advertising, Digital
6
Answers
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
Updated
Bob’s Answer
Elizabeth! What a great question!
I write every day in a digital marketing agency's creative department working on animated commercials, social media posts, advertisements, and even commercials for businesses of all sizes. If there's one thing I love most about my job, it's the ability to pitch humorous, funny, and silly ideas and make people laugh.
"Being funny" is a great life skill. Beyond creative writing, just understanding the world and looking at it in a different way with a humorous view helps people process disappointment, pain, and suffering that would otherwise make life really difficult. It relieves stress, promotes mental health, and makes life fun.
Yes, a good sense of humor is important!
There are many ways to put humor into your creative writing, but one of the best ways is to learn from the masters. By reading humorous stories, books, blog posts, and more, you'll start to see different kinds of humor. Some styles can be very silly and ridiculous, others can be witty and intelligent, and other styles might be ironic.
You can learn to be funny by copying funny writers you like. It shouldn't be plagiarism. That is, you shouldn't copy the exact ideas and pass them off as your own. Instead, you can copy the style and the way writers use humor effectively. Everyone in a creative field from artists to musicians to actors learn from the greats, start by copying who they admire, and eventually develop their own style.
Here are some practical steps you can take:
1. Go to your library and check out books by authors known for their funny writing style. You can do a google search or ask the librarian to help you. I'd recommend these authors to start: P.G. Wodehouse, Mark Twain, Dave Barry, Garrison Keillor, Shel Silverstein, Roald Dahl.
2. A great Instagram account to follow is the National Park Service (@nationalparkservice). Every post is really funny and it takes what could be boring facts into extremely entertaining content.
3. After you've identified some of your favorite authors, try writing about something you like, but in the style of your favorite funny author. This helps you understand what makes the writing funny and forces you to analyze the process of developing funny ideas.
4. Keep a journal of funny ideas, silly names, hilarious things and write at least one thing daily if you can. After a while, you'll have a huge resource of ideas that you can expand and develop.
5. Keep the mind of a student all the time. When you hear something funny or watch something funny, ask yourself what made it so good. Try to figure out the why behind the humor.
6. You can also read great literature. Believe it or not, the classics like A Tale of Two Cities, while not funny stories, have funny moments and paragraphs within them.
7. Lastly, take in as much as possible. Great writers are great at observation. Great funny writers are the same. And, like every great writer, you should listen to music, travel, try new things, visit museums... many of the best writers who are known for their humor are well-rounded, intelligent, and cultured.
Special note: don't give yourself a hard time if you're not seeing improvement right away. It takes time to develop. But you're already on a great path as you proactively seek out advice from professionals! Again, great question. Good luck in your writing and on your humorous journey!
Find your favorite humorous writers.
Try writing in the style of one of your favorite writers.
Keep a journal or online notes of funny ideas you think of and see every day.
Try to live your life being well-read, well-educated, well-travelled and taking notice of everything around you.
I write every day in a digital marketing agency's creative department working on animated commercials, social media posts, advertisements, and even commercials for businesses of all sizes. If there's one thing I love most about my job, it's the ability to pitch humorous, funny, and silly ideas and make people laugh.
"Being funny" is a great life skill. Beyond creative writing, just understanding the world and looking at it in a different way with a humorous view helps people process disappointment, pain, and suffering that would otherwise make life really difficult. It relieves stress, promotes mental health, and makes life fun.
Yes, a good sense of humor is important!
There are many ways to put humor into your creative writing, but one of the best ways is to learn from the masters. By reading humorous stories, books, blog posts, and more, you'll start to see different kinds of humor. Some styles can be very silly and ridiculous, others can be witty and intelligent, and other styles might be ironic.
You can learn to be funny by copying funny writers you like. It shouldn't be plagiarism. That is, you shouldn't copy the exact ideas and pass them off as your own. Instead, you can copy the style and the way writers use humor effectively. Everyone in a creative field from artists to musicians to actors learn from the greats, start by copying who they admire, and eventually develop their own style.
Here are some practical steps you can take:
1. Go to your library and check out books by authors known for their funny writing style. You can do a google search or ask the librarian to help you. I'd recommend these authors to start: P.G. Wodehouse, Mark Twain, Dave Barry, Garrison Keillor, Shel Silverstein, Roald Dahl.
2. A great Instagram account to follow is the National Park Service (@nationalparkservice). Every post is really funny and it takes what could be boring facts into extremely entertaining content.
3. After you've identified some of your favorite authors, try writing about something you like, but in the style of your favorite funny author. This helps you understand what makes the writing funny and forces you to analyze the process of developing funny ideas.
4. Keep a journal of funny ideas, silly names, hilarious things and write at least one thing daily if you can. After a while, you'll have a huge resource of ideas that you can expand and develop.
5. Keep the mind of a student all the time. When you hear something funny or watch something funny, ask yourself what made it so good. Try to figure out the why behind the humor.
6. You can also read great literature. Believe it or not, the classics like A Tale of Two Cities, while not funny stories, have funny moments and paragraphs within them.
7. Lastly, take in as much as possible. Great writers are great at observation. Great funny writers are the same. And, like every great writer, you should listen to music, travel, try new things, visit museums... many of the best writers who are known for their humor are well-rounded, intelligent, and cultured.
Special note: don't give yourself a hard time if you're not seeing improvement right away. It takes time to develop. But you're already on a great path as you proactively seek out advice from professionals! Again, great question. Good luck in your writing and on your humorous journey!
Bob recommends the following next steps:
Tom Foster
Freelance Writer with a lot of life experience
32
Answers
Forest Grove, Oregon
Updated
Tom’s Answer
That's an interesting question, especially since a lot of people will have something to say about it. Humor is a great thing to have in life, and in writing it should come naturally and flow along with the rest of the story. You don't have to be a comedian to come up with a funny or comical scene, but it does pay to know when to use it and when to stay serious. Kind of like life, you need to read the room and understand what's needed. Sometimes humor can break up a scene and cause a redirect that makes the story more interesting. Other times it can break up the tension and create a scene that's lighter and more conducive to personal development.
In a big way, humor in creative writing IS necessary, since you have to know when to use it and when to abstain. The great thing about humor is that if you know how, you can almost always find a way to interject your sense of humor into a piece in a way that people will appreciate. Just read the room, and as always...
Just write.
In a big way, humor in creative writing IS necessary, since you have to know when to use it and when to abstain. The great thing about humor is that if you know how, you can almost always find a way to interject your sense of humor into a piece in a way that people will appreciate. Just read the room, and as always...
Just write.
Richard Smith
Co-owner and Design Partner at 11:22 Creative Design, LLC
31
Answers
Rio Rancho, New Mexico
Updated
Richard’s Answer
Hi Elizabeth,
Thank you for taking the time to ask about your creative writing endeavors. I am also a writer and blogger.
Being funny can be important in creative writing as it can engage readers, make your work memorable, and add depth to your characters and storylines. Humor can create an emotional connection with your audience and make your writing more entertaining and enjoyable.
To learn to be funnier with your writing, you can:
1. Study comedy: Read and watch comedy in various forms, including books, stand-up comedy, sitcoms, and movies. Pay attention to the timing, wordplay, and delivery of jokes.
2. Practice writing humor: Experiment with different types of humor, such as wordplay, sarcasm, irony, satire, and absurdity. Write jokes, comedic scenes, or humorous anecdotes to develop your comedic voice.
3. Understand your audience: Know who you're writing for and tailor your humor to their preferences and sensibilities. What may be funny to one audience might not resonate with another.
4. Use exaggeration and absurdity: Stretch the truth, create outlandish scenarios, or exaggerate characteristics to make your writing more comedic and entertaining.
5. Edit and revise: Polish your comedic writing by revising and editing to improve timing, clarity, and punchiness. Cut unnecessary words, refine punchlines, and tighten up your writing for maximum impact.
6. Embrace your voice: Be authentic and true to your own sense of humor. Don't try to force humor that doesn't feel natural to you, but instead, lean into your unique comedic style.
7. Practice regularly: Like any skill, becoming funnier with your writing takes practice. Set aside time to write regularly, experiment with humor, and solicit feedback from others to improve.
Remember, humor is subjective, so not every joke or attempt at humor will land with every reader. Don't be discouraged by failures, but instead, keep refining your comedic writing skills and honing your craft.
To be more creative and entertaining with your writing, consider these additional tips:
1. Read widely: Expose yourself to a diverse range of genres, authors, and writing styles. This can inspire new ideas, broaden your perspective, and help you discover unique storytelling techniques.
2. Observe the world: Pay attention to the details of everyday life, people, and events. Draw inspiration from your surroundings, experiences, and interactions to infuse authenticity and depth into your writing.
3. Experiment with structure and format: Challenge traditional storytelling conventions by experimenting with non-linear narratives, multiple perspectives, or unconventional formats like letters, diary entries, or found documents.
4. Create compelling characters: Develop well-rounded characters with distinct personalities, motivations, and quirks. Make readers care about your characters by giving them relatable struggles, flaws, and aspirations.
5. Focus on conflict and tension: Build suspense and intrigue by introducing conflict early on and escalating tension throughout your story. Keep readers hooked by creating obstacles, challenges, and high-stakes situations for your characters.
6. Use vivid imagery and sensory details: Paint a vivid picture with your words by incorporating sensory details that appeal to the reader's senses. Describe sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and textures to immerse readers in your fictional world.
7. Employ symbolism and metaphor: Infuse your writing with symbolism, metaphor, and allegory to add layers of meaning and depth. Use symbolism to convey themes, emotions, and character development in subtle yet powerful ways.
8. Surprise your readers: Keep readers engaged by subverting expectations, delivering unexpected plot twists, or incorporating elements of surprise and mystery into your writing. Challenge conventional narratives and offer fresh perspectives to captivate your audience.
9. Edit ruthlessly: Revise your writing with a critical eye, focusing on clarity, coherence, and pacing. Cut unnecessary exposition, tighten up dialogue, and refine your prose to keep readers engaged from start to finish.
10. Seek feedback: Share your work with trusted friends, writing groups, or mentors to receive constructive criticism and gain valuable insights. Embrace feedback as an opportunity to grow and improve as a writer.
By incorporating these strategies into your writing process, you can enhance your creativity and captivate readers with entertaining and engaging stories.
I hope this helps you in your endeavors to follow your passion as a writer. You have a voice and you have something to say. Don't ever give up on yourself.
- Richard, author
Thank you for taking the time to ask about your creative writing endeavors. I am also a writer and blogger.
Being funny can be important in creative writing as it can engage readers, make your work memorable, and add depth to your characters and storylines. Humor can create an emotional connection with your audience and make your writing more entertaining and enjoyable.
To learn to be funnier with your writing, you can:
1. Study comedy: Read and watch comedy in various forms, including books, stand-up comedy, sitcoms, and movies. Pay attention to the timing, wordplay, and delivery of jokes.
2. Practice writing humor: Experiment with different types of humor, such as wordplay, sarcasm, irony, satire, and absurdity. Write jokes, comedic scenes, or humorous anecdotes to develop your comedic voice.
3. Understand your audience: Know who you're writing for and tailor your humor to their preferences and sensibilities. What may be funny to one audience might not resonate with another.
4. Use exaggeration and absurdity: Stretch the truth, create outlandish scenarios, or exaggerate characteristics to make your writing more comedic and entertaining.
5. Edit and revise: Polish your comedic writing by revising and editing to improve timing, clarity, and punchiness. Cut unnecessary words, refine punchlines, and tighten up your writing for maximum impact.
6. Embrace your voice: Be authentic and true to your own sense of humor. Don't try to force humor that doesn't feel natural to you, but instead, lean into your unique comedic style.
7. Practice regularly: Like any skill, becoming funnier with your writing takes practice. Set aside time to write regularly, experiment with humor, and solicit feedback from others to improve.
Remember, humor is subjective, so not every joke or attempt at humor will land with every reader. Don't be discouraged by failures, but instead, keep refining your comedic writing skills and honing your craft.
To be more creative and entertaining with your writing, consider these additional tips:
1. Read widely: Expose yourself to a diverse range of genres, authors, and writing styles. This can inspire new ideas, broaden your perspective, and help you discover unique storytelling techniques.
2. Observe the world: Pay attention to the details of everyday life, people, and events. Draw inspiration from your surroundings, experiences, and interactions to infuse authenticity and depth into your writing.
3. Experiment with structure and format: Challenge traditional storytelling conventions by experimenting with non-linear narratives, multiple perspectives, or unconventional formats like letters, diary entries, or found documents.
4. Create compelling characters: Develop well-rounded characters with distinct personalities, motivations, and quirks. Make readers care about your characters by giving them relatable struggles, flaws, and aspirations.
5. Focus on conflict and tension: Build suspense and intrigue by introducing conflict early on and escalating tension throughout your story. Keep readers hooked by creating obstacles, challenges, and high-stakes situations for your characters.
6. Use vivid imagery and sensory details: Paint a vivid picture with your words by incorporating sensory details that appeal to the reader's senses. Describe sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and textures to immerse readers in your fictional world.
7. Employ symbolism and metaphor: Infuse your writing with symbolism, metaphor, and allegory to add layers of meaning and depth. Use symbolism to convey themes, emotions, and character development in subtle yet powerful ways.
8. Surprise your readers: Keep readers engaged by subverting expectations, delivering unexpected plot twists, or incorporating elements of surprise and mystery into your writing. Challenge conventional narratives and offer fresh perspectives to captivate your audience.
9. Edit ruthlessly: Revise your writing with a critical eye, focusing on clarity, coherence, and pacing. Cut unnecessary exposition, tighten up dialogue, and refine your prose to keep readers engaged from start to finish.
10. Seek feedback: Share your work with trusted friends, writing groups, or mentors to receive constructive criticism and gain valuable insights. Embrace feedback as an opportunity to grow and improve as a writer.
By incorporating these strategies into your writing process, you can enhance your creativity and captivate readers with entertaining and engaging stories.
I hope this helps you in your endeavors to follow your passion as a writer. You have a voice and you have something to say. Don't ever give up on yourself.
- Richard, author
Elizabeth Strazisar
Writer, Author, Blogger
1
Answer
Duncannon, Pennsylvania
Updated
Elizabeth’s Answer
Hello Elizabeth!
First off, I want to say that you have a very good question. The proposition of humor in writing has been asked by almost every writer. What's funny? What humor should be put in and at what point do you draw the line?
In my experience, adding humor to your writing *tastefully* creates a really nice connection between you and your readers. They now see you as a human being and not just some random person/robot. When you add humor to your writing it usually makes people smile, therefore making them have happy emotions associated with reading your work.
Humor captures people's attention and keeps it as well. Your audience is more likely to stick around and read whatever you have to say if they create a positive connection with your work.
As far as your question on "what to do to become more funny", (I know you may think it's cliche) but just be yourself. I'm sure you've probably heard this one hundred times but bearing your soul into what you write is what's most important. People can recognize authenticity and they appreciate it.
However, I know you're probably looking for an answer other than "be yourself" so here's what I can suggest.
Immerse yourself in the comedy world.
Watch comedy shows and learn from comedians. The art of comedy is turning something that would usually be mundane and describing it in a way that is entertaining and relatable. Most jokes are a form of storytelling. So, if you want to write more comedically, change your mindset on the way you tell stories.
This may just be my personal opinion, but there is no need to swear-bomb every other word for something to be considered funny. It's not necessary, and can actually make a joke worse.
I think most importantly, let yourself relax. Often we are more humorous with our close friends and family than we are with strangers because we are comfortable with them. This can be both very simple and complex in writing. Sure, you're not writing to anyone specifically, it's just you and your keyboard, but there is also this looming thought of, "Anyone can read this and everyone is going to judge me for it." I understand that feeling far too well. I've written two young adult novels and it has taken me about four years to not write "scared." Again, going back to authenticity, a big part of writing is being open and writing without fear of judgment. (A lot easier said than done.)
When I was in high school, I kept it a secret that I was a writer. My stories felt very personal to me and I feared anyone I knew to read my writing, but now I've graduated and I've realized that their opinion of my work should not be a priority of mine. The opinions of my peers should not dictate how I feel, what I write, or how I write it. It's YOUR story to tell, not theirs.
I think it's great you want to sprinkle comedy in your writing. The desire to make people laugh is very pure and I applaud you on wanting to share positivity and happiness with the world.
I hope this helps and I hope you continue writing. The world needs people like you.
From one Elizabeth to another,
~Elizabeth Rose Strazisar
First off, I want to say that you have a very good question. The proposition of humor in writing has been asked by almost every writer. What's funny? What humor should be put in and at what point do you draw the line?
In my experience, adding humor to your writing *tastefully* creates a really nice connection between you and your readers. They now see you as a human being and not just some random person/robot. When you add humor to your writing it usually makes people smile, therefore making them have happy emotions associated with reading your work.
Humor captures people's attention and keeps it as well. Your audience is more likely to stick around and read whatever you have to say if they create a positive connection with your work.
As far as your question on "what to do to become more funny", (I know you may think it's cliche) but just be yourself. I'm sure you've probably heard this one hundred times but bearing your soul into what you write is what's most important. People can recognize authenticity and they appreciate it.
However, I know you're probably looking for an answer other than "be yourself" so here's what I can suggest.
Immerse yourself in the comedy world.
Watch comedy shows and learn from comedians. The art of comedy is turning something that would usually be mundane and describing it in a way that is entertaining and relatable. Most jokes are a form of storytelling. So, if you want to write more comedically, change your mindset on the way you tell stories.
This may just be my personal opinion, but there is no need to swear-bomb every other word for something to be considered funny. It's not necessary, and can actually make a joke worse.
I think most importantly, let yourself relax. Often we are more humorous with our close friends and family than we are with strangers because we are comfortable with them. This can be both very simple and complex in writing. Sure, you're not writing to anyone specifically, it's just you and your keyboard, but there is also this looming thought of, "Anyone can read this and everyone is going to judge me for it." I understand that feeling far too well. I've written two young adult novels and it has taken me about four years to not write "scared." Again, going back to authenticity, a big part of writing is being open and writing without fear of judgment. (A lot easier said than done.)
When I was in high school, I kept it a secret that I was a writer. My stories felt very personal to me and I feared anyone I knew to read my writing, but now I've graduated and I've realized that their opinion of my work should not be a priority of mine. The opinions of my peers should not dictate how I feel, what I write, or how I write it. It's YOUR story to tell, not theirs.
I think it's great you want to sprinkle comedy in your writing. The desire to make people laugh is very pure and I applaud you on wanting to share positivity and happiness with the world.
I hope this helps and I hope you continue writing. The world needs people like you.
From one Elizabeth to another,
~Elizabeth Rose Strazisar
Harold Gross
Staff Technical Writer, Author, Actor
9
Answers
Issaquah, Washington
Updated
Harold’s Answer
Hi Elizabeth!
There is a lot of great advice about familiarizing yourself with the craft and reading other people. Also and especially getting and listening to feedback.
However, I also want to express the reality that while you can try to commit humor more than you can try to commit art (in other words consciously producing an effect that everyone will see as "something") it is more important to write honestly and genuinely for yourself and your characters/story. Writers lose control of how they are interpreted as soon as their words leave their fingertips. What you think is funny others may find tragic, and that's OK. Your goal is to create an experience that has an effect. You can edit something to be funnier or to stretch out the tension, but you can't force something you think is funny to be funny to others. What you want to find is your voice. The rest is writing craft and feedback loops that you plumb to get the effect you intend.
But being funny isn't required to write. Having humility (which has been mentioned by others) helps make you more relatable. Not making your writing a dirge makes it more enjoyable to read. Humor helps as a tool and as a distraction, but how you define and deliver that will be up to who you are. This is how we get new voices in the field!
And, speaking of, one place you may want to consider examining is some of the more recent and successful stand-up comedians who are story-based in their sets. Watching their construction, word use, and editing to make an impact will help you understand construction. There are many, but find some that resonate with you and watch how they pull the audience along and then pay off elements from the beginning at the ending and what that journey was like.
Best of luck and, more than anything, keep writing!
There is a lot of great advice about familiarizing yourself with the craft and reading other people. Also and especially getting and listening to feedback.
However, I also want to express the reality that while you can try to commit humor more than you can try to commit art (in other words consciously producing an effect that everyone will see as "something") it is more important to write honestly and genuinely for yourself and your characters/story. Writers lose control of how they are interpreted as soon as their words leave their fingertips. What you think is funny others may find tragic, and that's OK. Your goal is to create an experience that has an effect. You can edit something to be funnier or to stretch out the tension, but you can't force something you think is funny to be funny to others. What you want to find is your voice. The rest is writing craft and feedback loops that you plumb to get the effect you intend.
But being funny isn't required to write. Having humility (which has been mentioned by others) helps make you more relatable. Not making your writing a dirge makes it more enjoyable to read. Humor helps as a tool and as a distraction, but how you define and deliver that will be up to who you are. This is how we get new voices in the field!
And, speaking of, one place you may want to consider examining is some of the more recent and successful stand-up comedians who are story-based in their sets. Watching their construction, word use, and editing to make an impact will help you understand construction. There are many, but find some that resonate with you and watch how they pull the audience along and then pay off elements from the beginning at the ending and what that journey was like.
Best of luck and, more than anything, keep writing!
Talia Roepel
Author / Article Writer/ Professor
29
Answers
Chicago, Illinois
Updated
Talia’s Answer
It depends on the type of story you are telling. There are plenty of serious dramatic novels with no humor. But if you want to have humor in your novel, it always starts with the characters. It should never feel like you are forcing humor. If you find yourself sitting back and thinking about a joke to insert, then you are doing it wrong. A character's personality will shine through, and they will make remarks on what they think is funny. Let them lead you.