How to Write Humour

Hi!

Issue # 16, March 16, 2010.

In This Issue:

1. How About Writing a Haiku?
2. How to Write Humour
3. Spread the word

How About Writing a Haiku?

Ever heard of a haiku? Would you like to learn more about this intriguing form of poetry?

Check it out:

How to Write Humour

Humour is a genre of writing that aims at making people laugh. For me, writing humour sort of comes easy, and perhaps it's because of my intense familiarity with cartoons. Yeah, a number of my friends find it a tad annoying that I, on most inappropriate occassions, occassions when they could do with a more sober and professional disposition, tend to behave cartoonish. Hey, I can't help but laugh in the face of danger! Ha! Ha! He!

If you ever catch me reading a newspaper, then the odds are that I am reading the Thursday Post, 'Klarki's Corner' to be precise. I can't remember the correct spelling of Klarki though. It's been a while since I saw a paper around this end anyway. Now, why do I enjoy Klarki's Corner so much? It's outrageously hilarious. The guy really cracks me up. His style of writing though cannot be strictly classified as Humour; rather, it is a combination of Humour and Satire. Call it Humorous Satire. I think I should cook up an article on Satire in the next issue. But in any case, Klarki's writing is a good example of Humour.

Away from Klarki. Another example that I can cite is PG Wodehouse. He has a humorous style of writing. Just read some of his stories and you will see that humour is cleverly interwoven into this writng.

Although I am accused of being a sadistic writer (God forgive me, I reckon I do not do it on purpose), I believe a good amount of my writing is humorous. The current set of twenty stories I am currently working on, Loverboy and Other Stories, contains a good amount of humorous stories that I gaurantee can make you laugh your socks off (but only if they are really old and worn out). The ones that I would particularly recommend are Father and Son, Architects of Disaster, The Flying Policeman and Grand Theft Auto. The Flying Policeman is currently available to all under Sample Stories. Take a look at it and see how humorous LJ can get. Hmm.

Now this is the part where I let you in on how to write funny stories. Probably you are saying: "I do not have a sense of humour. I ain't got the gift. My friends make scowling expressions when I make a joke." You know, I do not quite believe that. I think we all have a sense of humour. We've all made someone laugh at one point or another. Most of the time we do it, it is not due to some conscious action on our part. What we may take as a serious statement uttered in sincerity may make someone laugh their head off. When we try to be funny and it does not work, it's probably because we are trying too hard.

Although there are a number of techniques that writers use to achieve humour, I will talk only about one of them:

Exaggerations. This is probably one of the most effective techniques. To exaggerate is to overstate something, make it larger, bigger, smaller, wider, etc., than it really is. The effect of employing exaggeration in writing is often humorous. I remember reading the following description in a story book: "His ears were so big that they looked as though they were flapping like those of an elephant."

What an exaggeration! Ears flapping like those of an elephant? Doesn't it just crack you up?

Exaggerations usually work in conjunction with metaphors and similes. The overstated quality or object is compared with something else in an effort to create a vivid mental image in the reader's mind. In the example above, the boy's ears are compared with those of an elephant to emphasize their biggness. Note that in reality, the boy's ears may not be as big, but the comparison works to create a preposterous mental image in the mind of the reader that makes them laugh. I am certain you can see those big ears flapping. He! He! He!

As you can see, your ability to create humour is incumbent on your ability to create mental images. If you cannot imploy metaphors and similes to create mental images, then your efforts will simply be dashed to the ground. This is perhaps why some writers employ illustrations to aid their descriptions. But as long as your description is poor, no amount of illustrations can compensate for it. As a writer, your greatest weapon are your words, so learn to use them.

Hyperboles are the most extreme exaggerations, and used properly, they can achieve a greater humorous effect. Here's an example:

"I shivered like a leaf in the wind as the man thumped towards me. He was a broad as a wall and as tall as a giraffe. Whenever his foot landed on the ground, a small earthquake occurred."

Jeez, what a description! I am sure it did crack you up and open!

Of course, there are a number of other techniques that are used to achieve humour. I will not talk about all of them because I will just bore you to tears. However, I will not leave you empty handed. If my memory serves me right (It has a knack for not serving me at all, especially when it matters most), I wrote an article on how to write a funny story. Check it out:

http://www.writing-lovers.com/funny-short-story.html

Stay tunned for another juicy article in the next issue.

Cheers!