Your Guide to Writing the Perfect Story

Writing Humour in Stories

This chapter was suggested to me so I'm going to do my best to help out that person and hopefully anyone else who had a similar question. Now, to clarify, I'm not very good at writing humourous stories so this is in no way my specialty, but I will try to give you my greatest tips. If you have any tips you'd like to share, please do because there's a good chance you're more educated in this area than I am! That being said, let me begin.

Tip #1:

Many people say that sarcasm is the lowest form of humour. That may be so, but when it comes to books, I have to disagree. Having a sarcastic narrator can make your story incredibly amusing. Why? Because I think we can all relate to sarcasm and that extra bit of sass gives your character a touch of realism. We laugh at the truth in things, however strange that may be. Not to mention that sarcasm isn't hard to pull off, even if you are the least funny person in the world.

Likewise, you can even be funny by having a character make a sarcastic comment but the other person not catching on to their sarcasm. I suggest you try this out. Even if your protagonist is not a sarcastic person, maybe another character is.

Tip #2:

Often times, aspiring humour writers try so hard to think of something funny that it ends up being way out of the ball park and totally ridiculous. The trick is to focus on the little things that will make people laugh or even just smile. When you try too hard it will show and it won't have the same effect. Humour is subtle and you shouldn't try to change that. If you do, the flow of your story will come to a halt. The best kind of humour is the kind that makes people laugh without even realizing that something was intended to be funny.

Tip #3:

Like I said, you don't have to make huge laugh-out-loud jokes to be funny. Even something as subtle as irony could make someone laugh. For example, a very, very tall boy being beat in karate by a 5'1 girl. It's ironic because it would be the last thing you would expect. Or you could name someone Hope and have them burn down a village. Also irony. The most talented authors use irony in their stories.

Tip #4:

The best way to learn more techniques on humour is to read humourous stories, watch comedians on Youtube, or watch comedy movies (although those tend to be a little bit ridiculous a lot of the time). I suggest reading books by John Green, David Levithan, and Rachel Cohn just to name a few because they are quite good with writing naturally humourous stories.

Tip #5:

Laughter and cringing often are a package deal in novels. Writing awkward scenes can make people chuckle and wince at the same time, but there's no denying it: they make us grin. Sometimes you need to hurt your protagonist's pride a little. It happens to even the best of people.

Tip #6:

Think of conversations you've had with friends or jokes that you have made in the past. How can you incorporate that into your writing? Writing jokes that have actually happened before will give your story an edge of realism, but still maintain the humourous aspects of it. Remember to think of the little things that make you laugh. I remember I was talking about vegans with my friend and I said to her, "I just don't get it. I mean, there's only so much quinoa you can eat." I didn't intend it to be very funny but for some reason she thought it was hilarious.

Tip #7:

Be descriptive when you are describing funny situations. The more into detail you get, the more entertaining it will be for the audience. Describe facial expressions, the way things are done/said, and try to include as many metaphors and similes, etc as you can. Some analogies are actually quite funny. I'll give you an example of one I found on the net.

Example: He ran like a fourteen-year-old who had just walked in on his parents doing the horizontal hula dance.

Do you see how this is much for funny than just saying "he ran fast"?

Tip #8:

Strategic wording can make all the difference when you are writing humour. Try and think of things that most people wouldn't use to describe something or use an odd word. Making someone talk distinctly different could also be funny if done well. Bland words are not preferable.

Tip #9:

If your character is making a statement or is being sarcastic, being blatantly honest is the best way to go. Truth is funny because people can relate to what you are making fun of. I hope that makes sense. This is why people like satires so much: they reveal undesirable aspects of society. In other words, truth.

Tip #10:

This is my last tip for you today. And that is -- mind my language -- puns suck ass. Don't try to use them and expect people to be laughing their butts off. Unless you are purposefully putting them in dialogue to make a point about a person, you should avoid them with a five foot pole.

That's all for you today! Like I said, I don't know all that much about writing humour but hopefully you still took away something resourceful from this chapter. Please keep commenting! I really appreciate all the support I am receiving.