Seven Steps to Better Writing Humor

by Jan Hornung

Curly, Larry, and Moe made us laugh with their funny business. Hundreds of entertainers over the years have created funny situations and dialogues that have us rolling in the aisles in doubled-over mirth. Successful comedians seem to have a natural knack for making most of us burst forth with one of life's pleasures - laughter.

A writer, however, must create an image in the reader's mind that makes him chuckle, giggle, and smile. A writer cannot shove a pie in the reader's face, trip over his own feet and go sprawling, or make goofy gestures. A writer must use only words to conjure up situations and dialogue that bring rib-splitting, bone-tickling, knee-slapping guffaws, or at least a snicker, from the reader.

Whether or not a writer is personally funny is not important. What is important is that the writer can make the reader think that the characters and situations are funny. One of the greatest humor writers of all time was William Shakespeare, 1564-1616. Those who have read and studied "The Bard" appreciate him for the great comedy writer that he was. He developed characters that played off one another, and he created situations in which his characters could manipulate and interact with each other, resulting in a humorous effect.

We can't all be Shakespeares, but we can all be well-developed writers. The following are guidelines to help you, the writer, find your own funny bone.

1. Don't tell the reader that something is funny. Let the reader discover this for himself. Do this by painting a picture with words that the reader can relate to with all five of his senses. Describe the smells, textures, tastes, sights, and sounds.

As the writer, ask yourself how, why, who, when, and where, as you describe a character or situation. Tell the reader how something smells, tastes, feels, looks, and sounds. Describe why something smells, tastes, feels, looks, and sounds the way it does. And so on. Certainly you, the writer, don't have to address all of these questions, but by doing so, you will cover all the potential bases toward painting the best picture possible.

In Hamlet, Hamlet tells Horatio of his dead friend, Yorick. As he describes his friend to Horatio, Hamlet holds the skull of Yorick in his hand. "Here hung those lips that I have kiss'd I know not how oft. Where be your gibes now? your gambols? your songs? your flashes of merriment, that were wont to set the table on a roar?" In this example, Shakespeare uses Hamlet to bring Yorick alive for the reader. The reader can almost see Hamlet holding the skull in his hand; additionally, the reader can hear the "roar" of laughter from the guests at the table as Hamlet describes Yorick singing or telling a funny story. Shakespeare creates images using words that stir the reader's senses, evoking emotions in the reader as well.

We aren't any of us Shakespeare, nor do many of us want to be. If your character gets hit in the face with a pie, it may or may not be funny. If your character gets hit in the face with a lemon pie, with yellow, gooey blobs of meringue dripping from his chin and snowy drifts of whipped cream sticking from his ears, this paints a picture for the reader that is more likely to be perceived as whimsical. If the pie "splats" across his face, sending wafts of tangy-sweet lemon scent, along with a bit of graham cracker crust, up his nose as he sticks out his eager tongue to bring home the cheek-puckering flavor -- this is a hoot. Now the reader can smell, feel, taste, see, and hear that pie.

2. Use metaphors and similes that bring familiar images into your reader's mind. Used effectively, metaphors and similes say volumes with a few words. A metaphor is a figure of speech using a word or phrase that usually means one thing to refer to something else. Such as Shakespeare's metaphor, "All the world's a stage," said by Jacques in As You Like It. Using this metaphor, this character reflects on how people behave. Shakespeare uses the metaphor to paint an image of a stage in the reader's mind.

Metaphors, such as "his driveway doesn't go all the way to the street," can paint a funny image in the reader's mind of a not-all-there person. Everyone has met someone like this, so the reader can relate to such a metaphor.

A simile is a figure of speech in which the writer compares two unlike items, usually using the word "like" or "as". Shakespeare's simile, "I am constant as the northern star," spoken by Caesar in Julius Caesar, compares Caesar's strong will to the brightest star in the sky.

The simile, "we were wrestling around like two pigs in the mud, only he was enjoying it and I was just getting dirty," shows, not just tells the reader about, a funny situation.

3. Blending description, metaphors, and similes with dialogue is another way for the writer to expand his medium. Metaphors in a dialogue can add a humorous flavor of their own to the story or character. Such as one character might comment using a metaphor, "The squeaky wheel gets oiled." The other character responds with another metaphor, "And the quacking ducks gets shot!"

Similes can be funny in their own right, and added to a humorous situation can make it even funnier, such as, "I'm happy as a mosquito in a nudist colony," creates a humorous image in the reader's mind.

4. Words that portray movement are yet another way the writer can paint a funny picture for the reader. A character that is moving, like an actor on a stage, has more potential for hilarity than one that is not moving. Using action verbs, the writer can create a jovial image and elicit amusement from his reader such as in this example from a helicopter student learning to hover. "I madly made exaggerated corrections with the cyclic. We zigged crazily in mid zag, then zagged wildly in mid zig."

5. Colorful adjectives help the writer paint the exact image he wants the reader to experience. Keep a dictionary and thesaurus handy to look up adjectives that will spice up your writing. If the writer describes "a cow," the reader is left to color in the cow on his own. Use adjectives to describe all five senses as you paint a picture with words. "She was not just a cow but a sauntering bovine beauty with chocolate-bar swirls of milky browns and milk-shake white on a suede background -- the most delicious contented cud-chewer I'd ever seen."

6. Find new ways to say the same old thing. Was the woman large? Or does she look like she's built for comfort rather than speed? Was the man skinny? Or did he have to run around in the shower just to get wet?

7. Satire and irony add humor to the written story also. Irony is the use of words to express the opposite of their literal meaning. Satire is the use of irony or wit to attack something. Be careful with satire and irony; a writer can easily miss his mark, leaving the reader confused.

Summary: Remember to paint that picture using all five senses. Add a metaphor or two, a few similes, action verbs, and colorful adjectives.

You may not be the next William Shakespeare when it comes to comedy, but you may amuse yourself with your newly honed talent. Whether you choose dry humor, pleasant humor, slapstick, or satire, you may find you're a laugh a minute on the written page!

**Award-winning humor columnist Jan Hornung flew helicopters for the U.S. Army before turning to a career in journalism and writing. She is the author of This Is The Truth As Far As I Know, I Could Be Wrong, a hilarious look at life in the South and life in the military and If A Frog Had Wings ... Helicopter Tales, a collection of humorous short stories about being an Army aviator. She has also taught English grammar and composition at the college level. She has a diverse education in English, psychology, and a master's degree in Aeronautical Science. She is currently working on a serious book about women who served in Vietnam, entitled Angels in Vietnam. To find out more Jan Hornung and her books, please email her at Book212121@aol.com

Return to the May 2002 issue of The IWJ.