Writing with humour

[Tallyfire]

Writing with humour is something I've sort of wandered into when a particularly funny scene has come to mind, but being funny is not something I've ever actively pursued. Can anyone recommend some useful resources for writing with humour? Google lists some books on the topic, but what are your experiences with it first-hand?

I don't lack in examples of reading material for humour-spiked writing like Terry Pratchett and Douglas Adams, but getting the tone right with that kind of writing seems like a tricky business. Obviously it's according to taste as well - the only writers that come to my mind are British ones!

 

[Banespawn]

This video might help:

 

[Tallyfire]

This video might help:

Thanks! I'll check it out.

 

[Naomasa298]

I write humour - in that I write in the style of Jack Vance and Harry Harrison (both American), but I don't set the stories out to be "humourous" - the humour arises almost naturally as a consequence of the style.

I can write Pratchett, but I can't sustain it. I can maybe do three pages before I falter. I don't like stories that are just one gag after another, especially if they're infantile. That is why British authors are generally better at it, in my view.

 

[wearywanderer64]

I always have humour in my stories as it lightens the scene or there are occasions when something nonsenical is funny. People can be funny without trying. A fine example of that is Fawlty Towers. And also Laurel and Hardy whose mishaps are hysterical. It all depends what kind of humour you want. Situation comedy has many, many examples like the aforementioned and also Only Fools and Horses.

Of course, I'm showing my age

 

[Set2Stun]

I really enjoy writing humour. Mostly just one type of it, though - satire. Whenever I take note of something absurd in real life, I jot it down on my phone's notepad before I forget. By the time I'm ready to write a piece, I've got a nice well to go to for funny situations that offer social commentary.

I don't know how anyone can manage to write the kind of humour in say, The Naked Gun, or Airplane! I love that stuff, but it's a fine art that's well beyond my own skills.

 

[Rath Darkblade]

I can write Pratchett, but I can't sustain it. I can maybe do three pages before I falter. I don't like stories that are just one gag after another, especially if they're infantile. That is why British authors are generally better at it, in my view.

I hope (but I also think that) you're not saying that Pratchett is "one gag after another".

For Tallyfire: I've written humour, and my understanding is that Pratchett and Adams, like many other successful authors, don't do that. You start with a setting and characters in mind, and let the humour grow organically out of it.

Adams used absurdist humour, especially when he started. Pratchett used humour to point out the ridiculousness of life, or to highlight our similarities.

I sometimes use "nudity humour", aka what TV Tropes calls "Naked People Are Funny", for obvious reasons -- but this takes deft handling to avoid it veering into adult tropes. For instance, in my last chapter, I had my characters floating in a canoe down a river ... when they chance upon a carving that someone carved into a giant rock by the shoreline. (Use your imaginations. What? It's your imagination, not mine). Anyway, the carving distracts my characters to such an extent that they nearly run into a rough patch in the river, have to work hard to avoid it, start arguing, and have to make peace again. In this case, humour drives characterisation forward.

Anyway, sorry to digress. I hope this helps you.

 

[Tallyfire]

I can write Pratchett, but I can't sustain it. I can maybe do three pages before I falter.

This is what happens to me. I wouldn’t say I try to write Pratchett, but when I read it again later I see the similarities, which isn’t too surprising because I reread the Discworld novels regularly.

I want to write a satire piece, but I have a feeling I’ll run out if steam after the few scenes I have… so maybe it’s better it stays short rather than force more. What I would like to learn is something about comedic timing, and more on how to refine the piece and hit a specific tone. Maybe there’s some of that in the video Banespawn posted. Stand up comedians train in this stuff so there must be similar tips for writers.

 

[Tallyfire]

I really enjoy writing humour. Mostly just one type of it, though - satire. Whenever I take note of something absurd in real life, I jot it down on my phone's notepad before I forget. By the time I'm ready to write a piece, I've got a nice well to go to for funny situations that offer social commentary.

Useful tip! Thanks for that.

For Tallyfire: I've written humour, and my understanding is that Pratchett and Adams, like many other successful authors, don't do that. You start with a setting and characters in mind, and let the humour grow organically out of it.

Adams used absurdist humour, especially when he started. Pratchett used humour to point out the ridiculousness of life, or to highlight our similarities.

I think Pratchett and Adams both write “with humour,” hence the title. They’re not writing comedy for the sake of comedy, although I do think Adams bent his plot around his gags at times. Pratchett wields humour so deftly you often don’t notice at first how deep it cuts, revealing something raw.

 

[Night Herald]

Tricky questions, what with humor being such a subjective and wily beast.

Only thing how-to I remember reading about writing funny is a single chapter (the 11th) from Dwight V. Swain's Creating Characters: How to Build Story People. Been so long since I read it that I don't recall what it says, but might be worth a look. I'll give it a read this evening.

I do inject a ton of humor (or attempts thereat) into the majority of what I write, but I've never really sat down to figure out how the sausage is made. I personally think it's something I'm better off not trying to dissect, instead relying on instinct and my own sense of humor; I'll happily risk whiffing or ending up amusing only myself.

So no dissection, no blueprints, but nobody said anything about pondering and philosophizing.

For comedy works I like to first and foremost lay down a foundational atmosphere, a vibe if you will, where humor naturally thrives. Then I steer hard towards the absurd, the silly, the whimsical. I get a lot of mileage from cranking up the eccentricity on a majority of my characters; there's great comedy to be found in the interplay of people who are strange in radically different ways--for an absolute masterclass in how to do that, see Mevyn Peake's Gormenghast series, which among its many other qualities can be hysterically funny.

I find it funny to stretch quirks to their extremes, then take it a bit further. I like to mix far-out, cartoonish personalities with relatable, realistic human foibles within a single character. You know, that thing Terry Pratchett does so damn well.

I think good humor is built on a certain irreverence, a contrast, and an element of surprise; to my mind the best jokes feel a bit like an ambush. I like to look for humor in unusual places, finding laughs in things that aren't inherently funny, or even quite tragic. I don't ever take my work too seriously, though I treat it with sincerity and respect.

I think it's important to also mix up the types of humor you put in. That goes back to the element of surprise: I want my readers to feel like something is going to be funny very soon, but not know what or how or precisely when. I do try to make each major character (the ones meant to be funny, anyway) represent their own brand(s) of comedy, be it slapstick or deadpan sardonicism or charming cluelessness, so that whatever funny thing results from them being them seems obvious and just right in hindsight.

But yeah, mainly I try to just not think about it, at least not when drafting. I write the other stuff, and humor finds its way into the cracks whether I want it to or not. Probably better to practice writing humor than reading about how to do it, but maybe best off all to do both.

 

[wearywanderer64]

Just like to add - dark humour. Ever been a to a funeral and wanted to tell jokes or laugh? Has something funny happened and you were dying (pardon the pun) to split your sides laughing? It sounds cruel but it can also be hysterical.

 

[wearywanderer64]

Tricky questions, what with humor being such a subjective and wily beast.

Only thing how-to I remember reading about writing funny is a single chapter (the 11th) from Dwight V. Swain's Creating Characters: How to Build Story People. Been so long since I read it that I don't recall what it says, but might be worth a look. I'll give it a read this evening.

I do inject a ton of humor (or attempts thereat) into the majority of what I write, but I've never really sat down to figure out how the sausage is made. I personally think it's something I'm better off not trying to dissect, instead relying on instinct and my own sense of humor; I'll happily risk whiffing or ending up amusing only myself.

So no dissection, no blueprints, but nobody said anything about pondering and philosophizing.

For comedy works I like to first and foremost lay down a foundational atmosphere, a vibe if you will, where humor naturally thrives. Then I steer hard towards the absurd, the silly, the whimsical. I get a lot of mileage from cranking up the eccentricity on a majority of my characters; there's great comedy to be found in the interplay of people who are strange in radically different ways--for an absolute masterclass in how to do that, see Mevyn Peake's Gormenghast series, which among its many other qualities can be hysterically funny.

I find it funny to stretch quirks to their extremes, then take it a bit further. I like to mix far-out, cartoonish personalities with relatable, realistic human foibles within a single character. You know, that thing Terry Pratchett does so damn well.

I think good humor is built on a certain irreverence, a contrast, and an element of surprise; to my mind the best jokes feel a bit like an ambush. I like to look for humor in unusual places, finding laughs in things that aren't inherently funny, or even quite tragic. I don't ever take my work too seriously, though I treat it with sincerity and respect.

I think it's important to also mix up the types of humor you put in. That goes back to the element of surprise: I want my readers to feel like something is going to be funny very soon, but not know what or how or precisely when. I do try to make each major character (the ones meant to be funny, anyway) represent their own brand(s) of comedy, be it slapstick or deadpan sardonicism or charming cluelessness, so that whatever funny thing results from them being them seems obvious and just right in hindsight.

But yeah, mainly I try to just not think about it, at least not when drafting. I write the other stuff, and humor finds its way into the cracks whether I want it to or not. Probably better to practice writing humor than reading about how to do it, but maybe best off all to do both.

John Cleese based his character on a manager at a hotel he stayed in. These larger than life characters are funny without even trying,

 

[JLT]

If I had the magic key to humor, I'd be a happy man. But it has eluded me. It can present itself in so many ways, from P. G. Wodehouse to Dave Barry. It can be dark, like Kurt Vonnegut's stories, or as light as Ogden Nash's verse. All I can discern is that it takes a premise and exaggerates it, as in John Cleese's portrayal of Basil Fawlty, or provides a sudden twist that the reader doesn't expect, like the comedy of Robin Willams or Richard Pryor.

But I expect that if you read enough of it, you'll determine whether you have an ear for it. But it's a talent that not everybody has, If you discover that you have it, use it. But don't fret if you don't have the knack... precious few people do.

 

[Night Herald]

Just like to add - dark humour. Ever been a to a funeral and wanted to tell jokes or laugh? Has something funny happened and you were dying (pardon the pun) to split your sides laughing? It sounds cruel but it can also be hysterical.

Dark humor can be great, as long as the emphasis is on the humor and not the dark. It can be tricky to do right. As I grow older and hopefully more mature along with it, I find that a lot that's peddled as dark humor is just unfunny and in very poor taste, but there are ways to make it very dark and also very funny. Dark humor is a wide spectrum and it certainly has its place.

Your point about funerals made me think of the role of humor in catharsis, or lightening the tension. Humor isn't just a neat extra to make readers laugh, but a useful tool for regulating or resetting the mood of a piece. And, of course, a great means of characterization. If someone cracks jokes at funerals, for example, that tells us something about them. What exactly it tells us will depend on context and execution.

John Cleese based his character on a manager at a hotel he stayed in. These larger than life characters are funny without even trying,

You mean Basil Fawlty is real? I'm somewhat less surprised than I probably should be.

 

[wearywanderer64]

Dark humor can be great, as long as the emphasis is on the humor and not the dark. It can be tricky to do right. As I grow older and hopefully more mature along with it, I find that a lot that's peddled as dark humor is just unfunny and in very poor taste, but there are ways to make it very dark and also very funny. Dark humor is a wide spectrum and it certainly has its place.

Your point about funerals made me think of the role of humor in catharsis, or lightening the tension. Humor isn't just a neat extra to make readers laugh, but a useful tool for regulating or resetting the mood of a piece. And, of course, a great means of characterization. If someone cracks jokes at funerals, for example, that tells us something about them. What exactly it tells us will depend on context and execution.



You mean Basil Fawlty is real? I'm somewhat less surprised than I probably should be.

The name is false but he did base it on a real person when he and the Monty Python team were staying in a hotel on the south coast. One of my favourite comedies of all time.

 

[Rath Darkblade]

You mean Basil Fawlty is real? I'm somewhat less surprised than I probably should be.

Oh, yes. John Cleese exaggerated the character, to be sure, but Basil Fawlty was based on a real person. See here: Donald Sinclair (hotel owner) - Fawlty Towers

 

[Hammer]

Humour is tricky. I suspect that it might be something innate in some, perhaps not in others. Of course tricks like timing, pace, surprise can be learned as part of the craft, but I think some people just don't the world too seriously - self included - so actually can't write without am element of humour.

Last week I had to write a tribute to a great friend who passed away a couple of weeks ago so, of course, I wrote it with humour. Not all of it, of course. I'm not insane; it's not stand-up. Was it wrong that people were chuckling in the crematorium? No. It helped break the tension of what was a very solemn moment, and give shape and emphasis the underlying sadness. One of the last conversation he and I had was about his funeral and how a lot of good people would be there; he expressed sorrow that he wouldn't be amongst them... Technically, I said, you will...

With creative writing, I believe it needs to be subtle --slapstick won't work-- and I think it works better if the characters are funny, not the author!

 

[Naomasa298]

In my opinion, timing is about control of voice and cadence, like any other writing.

Just like if you're writing a story with a twist, or a surprise, you control when you reveal it to make it hit the hardest. It's the same with humour. If halfway through the book, you find out that everybody on the Orient Express dunnit, it doesn't hit as hard. Or if Misery breaks the guy's legs right away, you know she's a nutjob before the facade of normality falls away and it isn't as disturbing as it should be.

 

[Rigor Mortis]

In my opinion, timing is about control of voice and cadence, like any other writing.

Just like if you're writing a story with a twist, or a surprise, you control when you reveal it to make it hit the hardest. It's the same with humour. If halfway through the book, you find out that everybody on the Orient Express dunnit, it doesn't hit as hard. Or if Misery breaks the guy's legs right away, you know she's a nutjob before the facade of normality falls away and it isn't as disturbing as it should be.

I agree, though I would say the target is a lot smaller with humour.

 

[Tallyfire]

Only thing how-to I remember reading about writing funny is a single chapter (the 11th) from Dwight V. Swain's Creating Characters: How to Build Story People. Been so long since I read it that I don't recall what it says, but might be worth a look. I'll give it a read this evening.

I do inject a ton of humor (or attempts thereat) into the majority of what I write, but I've never really sat down to figure out how the sausage is made. I personally think it's something I'm better off not trying to dissect, instead relying on instinct and my own sense of humor; I'll happily risk whiffing or ending up amusing only myself.

I really enjoyed your description. Thanks for that! I want to add more humour in the rest of my writing too and you gave me some ideas. It's interesting you like to mix humour types. Do you find that clashes at times?

Were you thinking of the saying, "don't look into the sausage factory" (or a variation thereof) when you wrote that? Hopefully it's not too relevant... Swain's Creating Characters is actually on my to-read list. I've got his Techniques of the Selling Writer coming up first though.

Just like to add - dark humour. Ever been a to a funeral and wanted to tell jokes or laugh? Has something funny happened and you were dying (pardon the pun) to split your sides laughing? It sounds cruel but it can also be hysterical.

Horror/comedy films are a favourite of mine. It's interesting you point it out because, despite a love of dark humour, I can't remember anything I've written that's actually contained dark humour. I also can't immediately think of any books that pulled it off well and consistently (besides the occasional foray into dark humour). Ah, wait. Tom Sharpe is pretty dark in his satires. And Chris Brookmyre's All Fun and Games Until Somebody Loses an Eye pulls it off quite well, I think.

With creative writing, I believe it needs to be subtle --slapstick won't work-- and I think it works better if the characters are funny, not the author!

Yes! I am a bit surprised to learn Basil Fawlty was based on a real person.