Monday, April 9, 2012

A to Z - Humor

Today's post draws on my notes from a class the awesome Sarah Eden taught last fall at the UVU Book Academy. Sarah's always got great humor in her books, and she's just as funny in person.

Why should you include humor?
  • Well, for one thing, it makes the characters likeable. 
  • Another is comic relief. I remember thinking as my family was watching The Two Towers film about how dark it was. If it hadn't been for Gimli, it would have been an exhausting experience.
  • It's a great way to sneak in an emotional experience.
  • Like every emotional response, humor must be earned.
So, what makes things funny?
  •  Incongruity - something out of place or inappropriate to the situation
  • The unexpected - misdirection or surprise (Jack Sparrow--the pirate we never saw coming--is a prime example)
  • Familiarity - the reader can relate to what is said or done. This is something stand up comics use a lot.
Now you can have all those things and still bomb because it's all about the context. You need to know your audience and genre. Some things will appeal to certain ages, or to people who have lived through a certain era, or it can appeal to a stage in life or a common experience.

When I was young, there was a joke we used to love to tell.
Question: What's bigger than Winnie's Pooh?
Answer: Gomer's Pyle
I know. This seriously dates me. Many you won't get that joke at all, unless you've ever seen the old reruns of the TV show Gomer Pyle, which was a spin off of the old Andy Griffith Show.

So, play off your strengths and don't try something you're not good at. Don't force it.

Following is a sample of incongruity, where classical pianist Victor Borgia does the unexpected.



Do you have much humor in your writing? What's one of your more favorite funny scenes in a book?






30 comments:

  1. Couldn't live without humour and I certainly couldn't write without it.

    Self-deprecating sarcasm litters my manuscripts. The agent that I worked for 9 months on Searching for Arthur said there was one scene that made her cry with laughter.

    Or perhaps that was just cry?!

    J.K. Rowling is the Queen of humour, especially in the early books. Although I still believe killing Sirius and Remus was a big joke that she forgot to tell us about!

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  2. I do sometimes have humour in my writing but I can never force it. It seems to just happen.

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  3. Good post. I should add more humor to my writing. I love middle grade humor. Louis Sachar, the early James Dashner books, Brandon Sanderson's Alcatraz vs the Evil Librarians.

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  4. I used to love Victor Borge years ago, Being a pianist myself I could see the funny side of some serious classical piece of music.
    Thanks for sharing, brought back many memories,

    Yvonne.

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  5. My favourite kind of humour is the dry, ridiculous kind (like Monty Python etc). I recently read about the technique of the "rule of three" in writing humour. I'm not sure if I could adopt it into my writing successfully, but I think it's an excellent technique :) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rule_of_three_(writing)

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  6. I remember Gomer Pyle. Humor is good in a book when you can do it right. I'm not a super funny person so I couldn't do a totally funny book and make it work. But you're right. Humor is good even in a dark book.

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  7. Heard of Andy Griffith (just because my husband likes old films) but not Gomer Pyle.

    I think my favorite part of the piano act was when the second guy was playing and did a scale and slid across the bench, nearly knocking off the guy in plaid.

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  8. Agree that it can't be forced. Dialogue is often a great way to include humour. If a book is completely dark it can be a tough read. It's all about balance - not too much of one or the other.

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  9. For me, humor totally depends on character. I usually try to have one or two quirky characters. Someone who's odd or different, but nothing to impact the plot. It's just for fun and interest.

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  10. Repetition can also be a key to humor, though I think it's sometimes harder to pull this off in a book than in spoken or visual humor.

    I so far tend towards dry humor in dialogue. Writing a funny 'scene' where funny things happen is hard for me, it's much easier for me to be funny through dialogue. Richard Russo wrote some great humor, particularly in Nobody's Fool. Loved that.

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  11. I'm not a great funny writer but it slips in dialogue, usually some sassy side character who can get away with saying anything. I love laughing though so am a great humor appreciator.

    Plus whenever I think of the word, I think of my eighth grade English teacher, Mrs. Smith, who pronounced it "youmore"

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  12. I love books that make me laugh. Especially during something very dramatic.
    Great post.
    Heather

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  13. I definitely have humor in my writing. Sometimes too much so my CPs tell me to cut back a little :)

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  14. I like what Oscar Wilde says about humor:

    "If you want to tell people the truth, make them laugh, otherwise they'll kill you."

    I think it's a great tool in writing, if it comes naturally to the writer. Great way to insert some relief to a serious work too, as you pointed out.

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  15. I think every book needs a little humor! LOVE the Pooh joke. Seriously I almost fell off my seat :)

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  16. Great post! I like humor, especially the sarcastic kind. It speaks to my soul. :)

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  17. That was a cute joke and I love humor in book sbut find it really hard to write!

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  18. I wish I could be funnier. Unfortunately, I'm a down to earth person who calls a finger a pointer.

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  19. I've always thought that humor, done really right, does a perfect job of communicating and getting a point across.

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  20. I love humor! It's a great way to break the tension and it's a powerful tool because it reaches a powerful emotion! I really enjoyed reading "not my type" by Melanie Jacobson. She has a lot of funny stuff going on in that book.

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  21. Humor is always the best part to put in, love using it and the cat can get most and dish it back with ease. Got the gomer pyle one too, as I've seen reruns.

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  22. Well, first off I am terrible at telling jokes becuase I can never remember the punch line. Second, I do have a quick whit in a teasing style and I try to see humor in everyday life...otherwise, life becomes overwhelming...fun H word!

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  23. Humor is difficult. The only place I really use it is in dialogue.

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  24. Thanks for sharing such a fun clip, Donna! :) I think the majority of my book's humor comes through in banter.

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  25. I've noticed this with kids' movies. They add adult humor that thankfully goes over the kids' heads. The kids aren't familiar with the reference.

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  26. What a fun post, Donna!

    I do have humor in my writing--even though it's pretty serious. But you're right, you need those moments of relief... it adds SO much to the story :D

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  27. I LOVE humor in books! And I love hearing Sara Eden talk. She's hilarious!!

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  28. Any humour in my writing is purely co-incidental :-)

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  29. I used to fight in medieval wars in full plate armor. One of my friends was a knight and about 4'5". So every time I fought next to him the one-liners would fly. Once we were facing a whole phalanx of guys with HUGE shields. I looked over at him and whispered, "You need a box?" He grinned and said, "Dinomite never needs a box." And then he exploded into a run and I never saw him until the end of the battle.

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