Long after I started writing humor, I heard the statement that it is the hardest thing to write. I wish someone had told that me sooner. I might have gone for something easier like philosophical treatises on existential poetry.
The fact is, I disagree with that statement. Humor is not overly difficult. Like all forms of writing, there are methods to employ to help make it easier. I will focus on the four most important in this article. They are:
Aside from those tools, the single most important thing to remember when writing humor is that you want to allow your readers to laugh with you, at you, and most importantly, at themselves. You are never truly successful as a humor writer, until your readers can put themselves into the situations you are describing, and laugh at how they see themselves in that role.
The Use Of Surprise
My readers often say that they don't know what I might say next. The truth of the matter is, I am never all that sure myself. Creating that element of surprise is a deliberate act.
As you write a story, you are taking your reader along a path and creating the scene that they are experiencing. As you move along, the reader will start to predict where you are taking them. A sudden change in direction shocks the reader and provides the basis for the laugh response.
Creating A Sense Of Superiority
A basic human trait is the desire to feel superior to someone else. Creating that feeling is a very effective way to elicit laughter in your readers.
I give my readers permission to laugh at some of my flaws. One in particular is my size. I have often pointed out that I am big for my age. I am six-foot-four and, for lack of a better word, fat. It's not something that I can hide or disguise, so I use it as a source of comedic material, thereby making thinner people feel somewhat superior to me. For example:
I will readily admit that my height and weight are above average. OK, my weight is even a bit more 'above average' than my height. The last time I managed to fit on one of those charts that says what you should weigh based on your height, was when my father turned to my mother and said, "What do you mean, you're pregnant!?"
A number of years ago I shared my home with a cocker spaniel. This particular dog had the cerebral skills of a sack full of rusty doorknobs. My readers came to know her as the dumbest dog to ever get lost on a single flight of stairs. When I would write about her, any reader who owned a dog with even the slightest lick of sense could feel superior and laugh with me and at me for owning such a dog. Those with equally stupid dogs could laugh at their own lives as they saw some of their dog's traits, in what I was describing about mine.
"When Pavlov rang his bell, his dog would drool. Whenever anyone rings our bell, the dumbest dog to ever get lost on a single flight of stairs pees. It's the same concept, just a different end of the dog."
Creating a sense of superiority is a double edged sword. The other side is best to be avoided. All of the "ist" jokes stem from someone's attempt to create a sense of superiority. There is so much humor in this world that does not have to depend on making racist, sexist or any of the "ist" comments.
Exaggeration Or Embellishment
Using a bit of exaggeration or embellishing a story to draw out some additional humor is a perfectly acceptable tool in the humor writer's arsenal. I often look at events and wonder, "what if…"
I wrote once about undergoing that medical procedure that involved inserting a camera into your inner sanctum. Bad enough as that event was to endure, I had a "what if" thought as I wrote about it.
"In actual fact, the camera itself was small enough that it didn't cause much of a problem. I think the real pain came when he tried to shove up a tripod up there to steady it."
My wife claims that whenever I write about her I embellish the story. That, of course, is a huge exaggeration.
Comedic Timing
When I teach humor writing, I often tell my students to watch comedians perform and think about how their routine would translate onto the printed page.
Generally, before a comedian gives his punch line, there is a slight pause. Putting that on paper is done by creating a new paragraph, even if it's only a couple of words long. According to rules of proper writing, that line might be more appropriately a part of the previous paragraph.
By pulling the punch line out and into its own paragraph, you give the reader a chance to take a breath at the end of the main paragraph. At the end of the punch line paragraph, the reader has another break to laugh (hopefully) before continuing to read the story. For example:
Because of my size, I have to shop in stores with names like Mr. Homogonous. Normal menswear stores carry sizes like Large, Extra Large, and sometimes Double Extra Large. Thankfully, I take the smaller sizes at Mr. Humongous. On my last trip there, I saw an 8XL leather coat.
Making it put an entire species into extinction.
Sources of Material
I was a great fan of the late Lewis Grizzard, and he was a huge influence on my writing, especially in the creation of titles for books that people find hard to forget. My favorite title of his was, When My Love Returns From The Ladies Room Will I Be Too Old To Care?
Grizzard said that when you are writing humor, you really only have to look at the world from the front of your eyelids forward, and pretty soon you will see something funny to write about. That statement has stayed with me throughout my writing career. It has helped me find material for my newspaper column, my books and my live comedy appearances. There is so much humor all around us in our daily lives that I really don't find much need to make things up. It just takes practice to learn to focus on spotting that humor, especially the stuff that so many people miss because they are too busy thinking or worrying about other things.
Family life is one of the greatest sources of material for humor writers. It sustained the careers of writers like Erma Bombeck and so many others. Much of what I write about has focused on the humor in the family. My sons grew through their teen years as characters in my newspaper columns and books. My wife, who has suffered through thirty-three years of marriage with me, has also been a major source of material.
"When you are feeding teenage boys, you know you are in deep trouble when you run out of food before you've finished taking the groceries out of the car."
Many humor writers focus on politics for their preferred topic. There is certainly no shortage of material, no matter which side of the political spectrum your allegiances may lay. I do not do a lot of political material in my writing. My wife is afraid both sides would be out to get me if I did, and she might get caught in the crossfire.
Current events not related to politics also provide a great source of material. Many newspapers and websites offer odd news items. Occasionally, I will turn to these stories, not in order to write about them, but because they often remind me of something from my own life that relates to the story. I then focus on the personal; story, rather than the new item.
My colleague Dave Barry says that every humor writer should own a dog. They provide so much material. I've already mentioned the late, great dumbest dog to ever get lost on a single flight of stairs. I currently share my home with a dog at the other end of the scale intellectual scale. Tara, a cream Labrador retriever is a regular feature of my column, because she, like all dogs, has her own humorous quirks and habits.
In conclusion, let me say that humor writing is a skill that is important to writers of all genres. Shakespeare knew the importance of interjecting comic relief into the most tragic of his plays. Most great fiction writers remember to occasionally give their readers cause to smile or laugh. Using the tools and sources of material outlined in this article, will help you develop a sense of humor in your written work.
And if you take nothing else away from what I have written, remember. It is vitally important to let your readers laugh with you and at you. You will be truly successful, when your readers find that they are laughing at themselves when they read your words.
© 2006, Gordon Kirkland
Gordon Kirkland is the author of several books including his latest title, I Think I'm Having One of Those Decades. He has been writing his syndicated humor column for more than eleven years. In addition to his writing, Kirkland is in constant demand as a speaker and entertainer, taking the stories and situations he writes about, and presenting them live on stage.
