Advice for writing humor?

[Java]

Okay, I need to know, who has good advice on writing humor?

It's just not my forte and I'm struggling... seriously. I think it's the fact that I'm such a serious person (ask my husband it's like pulling teeth to get me to sit through something comedic that he watches) but there's got to be a way for me to develop at least a passable skill of writing it. If not then there maybe trouble ahead for my current fanfic plus some of the ones in my head.

Anyway, thanks in advance. I look forward to seeing what you all have to say.

 

[ZootyCutie]

One of the main parts in humor is timing. Even a great joke can fall apart without the right timing. Here's an article entirely about humor.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humor
Hope this helps!

 

[BeakerSqueedom]

Javy, I am actually a serious person too. Don't you think you're the only one.
Just look into what you think is funny! Perhaps, you have a mature sense of humor, unlike me. There are different types of humor...

Sarcastic
Ironic
Punchlined stories
Pun-filled story
Long-joked story
Ect.

It depends on the atmosphere of the story. If it is a dark story, it usually contains, irony and dry humor as such. If overly cheerful, like some of my low quality stories, it tends to be hyperactive and strange. If it is romantic, it usually involves physical sort of humor--like when Gonzo comments something like..."Nice legs" *Wriggles eyebrows*...

It really depends on the overall mood of the story you intend to write. A story flows naturally. You understand?




I don't think I made a lick of sense.

xD

 

[Java]

You made sense and I can't come up with something cute in reply to that (all I could think of was salt licks...)

Thanks for the article Maddie, I'll see what I can gather from it.

 

[BeakerSqueedom]

Salt is good for the soul.

Neways, if you need any humor help with some of your stories. Feel free to PM me and I'll try to mold something up for that story in particular.

 

[Java]

How about updating Night at the Museum as it has given me inspiration for something that I'm working on....

 

[BeakerSqueedom]

Really? You? Inspiration...me? wow..

*Clings to her*

Yes mam! I shall tommorow and truly get off muh lazy bum!


XD

XD

 

[Ruahnna]

On "The Andy Griffith Show" (you know, Mayberry, Aunt Bea, Opie and Barney Fife), Andy Griffith would look at the scripts and say, "That sounds too much like a joke--let's cut that out." He wanted the humor of the situation to flow naturally out of the characters. I would say (IHNHO) that much of the muppet humor flows directly from the characters themselves--Kermit's the-only-sane-man (er, frog), Piggy's over-the-top diva, Gonzo's inexplicable but never boring weirdness, Rizzo's avarice.

I'm not saying that the characters had one dimension--but that the humor came not out of what Piggy did, or what Fozzie said, but from what we--as viewers--had come to expect from Kermit or some other character when they did.

They also did a lot of verbal humor--puns and that sort of thing. "Do you like Kipling?" "I don't know--I never Kippled!" And running gags--like Fozzie's telephone gags.

One of my all-time favorites in when Dr. Bunsen Honeydew dances with one of the whatnot muppets during the "At the Dance" segment. (Comments about formulaic humor coming up!) As they stop, he looks at here and say, "I see you have nothing to say." And later, "I see you STILL have nothing to say!" Not sophisticated AT ALL, but I fall out laughing every time.

Now, about formulaic humor... There's a lot to be said for the expected and familiar. Every time Vetrinarian's Hospital came on, we knew we were in for corny jokes, bad puns and lots of laughs at the expense of the hapless victims, er, patients. So, before the announcer even started his spiel, we were already shaking our heads in bemusement and ruefulness. If they were funny--hurrah! We laughed our, um, hind part's off. If they weren't funny--well, no surprises there!

If you're having trouble writing humor for a particular scene, try to visualize what the characters would do if you were watching them. (I realize that this would be easier if Jim or Frank or Steve or Bill were actually PUPPETING the muppets in your head, but we can't have everything, can we?) If you aren't a visual sort of writer, then start with a funny idea, a lame joke or a silly premise and see if you can work the characters in.

Hope some of this helped! I look forward to seeing what you come up with!

 

[Redsonga]

*Is breathing life into many of the topics on writing, being in a talking about writing mood *

I think it really does have to come from the characters themselves, but another good rule of thumb is if you write humor that works and makes you laugh even though you are the author and have read it dozens of times before, then you know you have written humor well IMHO .