Why do authors use humor

Avoid the common pitfall of trying to be funny. And what a slow, painful death that is. But when you make the story or scene funny to you, then you know that you made one person laugh. And one person is just the beginning. While it's possible to add humor into just about any genre, some audiences are more accepting of humor than others. That said, humor can also add an interesting twist to a character, and create a unique perspective for the reader.

Are you a rebel at heart? I love well-done spoofs. However, to make fun of a genre, start with a sincere love for that genre. Otherwise, your exaggerated imitation can come across as mean-spirited and demeaning to the readers who enjoy that genre. You want the audience to laugh with you, not hate you. Who are they and what are their life experiences? Will they understand the joke or will it go over their heads? This audience can get a joke, but they may not understand a reference to the 80s sad, but true.

The same can go for an international audience that may not understand a Jamaican reference. In order to use humor effectively, you must understand what the reader understands. One of the best ways to infuse your story with humor is to create a funny narrator; readers like them. Funny narrators are endearing and have an interesting way of viewing the world around them.

Whether you choose to decorate their commentary with interesting colloquialisms or biting wit, humor can add another layer of complexity to your narrator. Narrative humor is especially useful when writing from a first-person, protagonist point of view. In addition to using humor for characterization, you can also use it to strengthen the bond between the narrator and the readers.

The trick is to let the reader in on the joke. In fact, this type of narrator can come across as unreliable, which is not something you want to happen unintentionally. Instead, direct the humor toward your characters. Put them in funny situations. Allow them to analyze their circumstances and self-deprecate. Humor is a quick, effective way to illustrate such. Humorous remarks or incidents tend to happen near the end of a chapter or long scene. What lines do you remember from books, stories, and movies?

What lines do people quote over and over? Is it the long, drawn out serious ones or the short, funny, witty quips? Do these lines sound familiar? When quoted by people, they are referenced in a humorous manner. Do you know?

Humor goes a long way to making a short phrase memorable… and you want your stuff to be memorable. Perhaps a very serious character steps into a puddle while chastising someone and so forth. Make your writing real and captivating by incorporating humor, no matter what the subject matter. Ian Coburn is the author of the bestseller God is a Woman: Dating Disasters , which re-lives his dating and sexual misadventures as a ten-year touring comedian.

Visit www. Please log in again. The login page will open in a new tab. My characters generally don't laugh, although I often laugh out loud when I write - even in coffee shops. These are great suggestions. I really appreciate that you not only give us the tip but the "why" behind it. I write Christian non-fiction and editors are often seeking manuscripts with a touch of humor.

Great post, I think it's a good idea to explore humour in writing the different ways you can use it because it seems to frighten some writers. I find different cultures have very different styles of humour as well.

American and British humour is so different and us Aussies seem to be somewhere between the two : Wagging Tales - Blog for Writers. I have a hard time with humor. It doesn't come naturally, so I really admire those with a writing funny bone! I just read Flash Burnout by L.

Loved the book. One of the most satisfying things for me as a writer is when I reread and my characters take me by surprise and make me laugh. Big thumbs up for weaving in the light with a laugh. Such a fantastic post! I love incorporating subtle humor in my work. For me, it's a matter of giving choice characters a quick wit or throwing them into awkward situations. Even though the antagonist in my historical YA is a sadistic slave owner, I do have a few moments of humor from the other characters to keep the book from being to heavy.

An excellent post! Wow, thanks for covering humor. I only had so much time to go over four other powerhouse emotions last week that some of them, like humor, got thrown out the window. So much writing, so little time. Some great points there. Humour is necessary in writing too because that's how people are in real life, given most situations. Even in tense or conflict events, people tend to veer towards the humourous in order to give some kind of relief.

I love humor in books even when it's a more serious book! It's hard though. I love humor but don't always use it in my stories. Granted, a little something will slip in ever once in a while. Usually, it helps if I just choose one character and make them funny.

It really is a necessary part of writing to lighten the load of any book though. A person can only take so much drama. I do enjoy well-placed humor and try to include it in my stories, and I like a sense of the ridiculous. What I struggle with is getting it in the right place.

In one of my books, I had several moments of humor, but my agent, although she thought they were totally funny, also thought they killed the tension and momentum of the scenes.

She was absolutely right, too. I've only written one humorous story soon to be published but really like how well it can portray character. Thank you for the great tips! Ellie Garratt. Most all of my stories, long or short, have humor in them. Things can get serious so easily, but laughter is what heals. I love writing and reading humor into books! It's SO subjective though. Things I get a kick out of, someone else might not. I'm admittedly easily amused, however.

I do agree that you need those lighter moments in very dark books, to help balance them out. I love adding humour in stories. I get a kick out of reading humourous stories.

Even in dark books a dash of humour helps. Great post as usual :. I love adding humor into my stories where and when I can; finding a place where it doesn't sound forced or like the character's trying to be overly funny is hardest for me. My cp's don't always like my humor. But I like humor. It's part of my natural though process, so it often finds its way onto the page before I know it. Dezzy, yes, I use irony on occasion for my characters, that is.

Emily, yes it is hard to sometimes tell if something is funny to others.