The Art of Humor
All good books need to have some kind of humor. Something that makes me laugh so hard that I earn myself weird looks reading it. Not inappropriate humor by any means. If your humor disgusts me and I wish to boil it in a vat of jello, then it's probably not the best humor in the world.
Things that I find extremely funny are ironic comments and well placed sarcasm, along with little random snippets (if used in a good context with the plot). If your humor is predictable and I was totally expecting it, then I don't consider it "humor". I'd call it one of those lame Laffy Taffy jokes that no one laughs at, just looks at the person who shared it while they squirm awkwardly. Be sure when using humor, that it's in a good place in the book. Sometimes good authors can squeeze it in just after a tragic event, which lightens the mood of the characters. Others use it during a predictable place, but use an unpredicted joke. It's all how you put a spin on things. No spin? No laughs. Easy as that.
I consider humor a huge part in books. If I'm snoring through the whole thing, I'll most likely put it on the "Boil in a vat of jello NOW" list never to read again. Then again, if your topic is serious (such as the holocaust) then of course you're not going to add a random "haha" moment! It just doesn't quite work that way.
You also need to know your audience. If you know you're writing for teens, think of things that they'd find funny/ironic and slip little bits of those into places in your writing. If you're writing for children, then think of things that you loved as a child. Writing for adults? Same concept.
<3 Seana
Things that I find extremely funny are ironic comments and well placed sarcasm, along with little random snippets (if used in a good context with the plot). If your humor is predictable and I was totally expecting it, then I don't consider it "humor". I'd call it one of those lame Laffy Taffy jokes that no one laughs at, just looks at the person who shared it while they squirm awkwardly. Be sure when using humor, that it's in a good place in the book. Sometimes good authors can squeeze it in just after a tragic event, which lightens the mood of the characters. Others use it during a predictable place, but use an unpredicted joke. It's all how you put a spin on things. No spin? No laughs. Easy as that.
I consider humor a huge part in books. If I'm snoring through the whole thing, I'll most likely put it on the "Boil in a vat of jello NOW" list never to read again. Then again, if your topic is serious (such as the holocaust) then of course you're not going to add a random "haha" moment! It just doesn't quite work that way.
You also need to know your audience. If you know you're writing for teens, think of things that they'd find funny/ironic and slip little bits of those into places in your writing. If you're writing for children, then think of things that you loved as a child. Writing for adults? Same concept.
<3 Seana
Hey Seana,
ReplyDeleteIf you want some humor that will make you laugh really hard without the weird looks, then try HVF's ONCE UPON A TOAD. It was one of the best books I have ever read. I must say that it almost rivals the MDBC. It was that good.
OUaT is great for all age groups. My little sister (who's 9) is begging to read it right now and my mom is going to read it after I'm done reading it for the 10th time. :)
Great post!!
-D. Skye <3
Ooh! I haven't had the chance to read Once Upon a Toad, but from the reviews and whatnot I've seen, I'm going to have to get my hands on that soon!
DeleteI adore humor. It's the one thing I actually believe I can do well. Humor was once defined thus: "A previously unanticipated ambiguity." Basically, no one saw it coming and no one knew exactly where it had come from when it arrived. To me, humor is spontaneity, and as long as I'm spontaneous I'm humorous. (Here lies part of my objection to outlining.)
ReplyDeleteAye, I can agree that you do your humor well. A lot of yours is ironic and very unexpected, and therefore, quite funny.
ReplyDeleteDanke, danke.
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