Today I have to be funny.
Writing humor is hard, but kids (and adults) love it! I would say it’s almost a requirement in children’s books, to have at least some humor woven throughout even a serious story.
I’m no stand-up comedian, but I’ve been known to pull a laugh or two out of my kids. However, writing straight comedy is a zebra of a different stripe.
Today, I’m going to write skits for my kids’ upcoming talent show. When I was asked to do this, I said, “Sure!” knowing full well I hadn’t the slightest idea what I was doing. The kids are beyond excited, eagerly demanding roles and providing suggestions. For my part, I’ve sketched out some story lines, checked out the stage and placement of microphones, and wondered what my young talent will be capable of delivering on-stage. I knew not to underestimate them, but they still surprised me. When I provided my boys with a few Boy Scout skits, to get an idea of timing and duration of a page of written material, they were fantastically capable of delivering lines with great comedic timing.
I quietly realized there is an art to comedy, and I’m a novice at best.
Fortunately, story is at the heart of everything, and I do know something about that. And I had just finished reading Robert McKee’s Story, where he talks a bit about humor in writing, and what makes it funny.
According to McKee, there are myriad subgenres of comedy: romantic, screwball, farce, black, parody, sitcom, satire. They vary by the focus of the comic attack (bureaucratic folly to teenage courtship) and the degree of ridicule (gentle, caustic, lethal). It was fascinating to see comedy described as a vicious attack – what, did you think it was funny? The one overriding requirement, to make comedy funny and not horrific, was this: Nobody gets hurt.
No matter how much the characters may scream and wail, in the end, Wily E. Coyote always dusts himself off for another go at the Roadrunner. McKee illustrated this with an example where two versions of a scene were screened for an audience. In the scene, a piano falls on a fluffy white Persian cat. In one version, the little paw sticks out from underneath the baby grand: the audience roars. In the second, a small trail of blood leads away from the paw: the audience is deathly silent. Lesson: Don’t hurt the cat.
Confident that I already knew not to kill fluffy creatures for my K-6 skit, I was more interested in what did work. According to McKee, all drama lives in the gap created between expectation and reality, but comedy uses this unexpected change to produce that strange thing we call laughter. Where drama says that under the worst of circumstances, the human spirit soars, comedy points out that in the best of circumstances, human beings find a way to make a mess of things. So, the comedy writer goes on the hunt for an institution filled with folly and launches a vicious attack, laying bare all the hypocrisy it contains, served up in tiny morsels of funny.
I had no idea there was so much anger in comedy.
I’m off to write something funny. Wish me luck. Or possibly send condolences.
I just finished reading Story for the second time! And I remember him talking about the gap. Wonderful stuff. Seriously, comedians seem to be the most hurt and angry people out there.
oh my goodness this sounds so hard to me! No doubt this is why I couldn't be a children's book author – when I try to be funny my kids look at me like an alien LOL! good luck:)
Way luck, Sue. This is an interesting look into humor in writing. Thank you.
Also important is audience and environment. Funny writing may not translate to stage of screen if the humor relies on the narrative for the set-up or punchline. A sight gag or pratfall that kills live may be beyond words.
Ricky Gervais is funny, but his Golden Globe jokes no doubt would have been better received at a Comedy Central Roast.
I would like to screen the funny version of the cat and piano at a PETA rally and see how they react π
I hadn't heard of Story by Robert McKee–thank you! I added it to my list! And how cool of you to help your school out that way. I agree with you that kids brim with talent even at young ages.
Oh yes. Humour is often biting. I mean, I have humour in my stories, but I almost never write humour stories, where humour is the intended goal. The very few times I have, it was because I was writing satire, and I had a serious desire to needle some institution. Such as, for example, Wal-Mart and The City of Windsor. π
Yikes, very scary to me. I always freeze when I'm asked for a joke on command. But good luck!
@Laura It's an amazing contradiction, that the angry comedians make us laugh so hard!
@Lindsay The kids are wonderfully forgiving with the humor, but you do have to be in their "zone."
@Sheri Thanks for stopping by! π
@Rick You are so right! I was thinking I had about 5 posts worth of things to talk about with comedy. Audience is terribly important, especially with kids (as you know!). And I'm finding the stage a whole different kind of challenge- but in a good way! π
@Jill It's a great book! And it's me who's lucky to be able to work with the kids! π
@Bryan Satire would definitely be lost on the little ones. As Rick says, audience is terribly important. Lucky for me, I have a built in test audience at my house. I, however, would love to read you ripping on The City of Windsor! π
@Jenna I know! I can never remember jokes! My humor is definitely "situational comedy." π
You've GOT to post some of the skits, Susan. I want to read them! π
oh, man, good luck! Don't hurt the cat… *snort* π See! You're already making me laugh~
I have the highest regard for writers of humor because I really do think it is the hardest type to write! I know there are formulas you can follow, and I've tried to dissect Rick Riordan to figure out his formula for funny, but I get the sense with a lot of people it's just organic. But that's very interesting, that there is so much *violence* in humor! π Your post also reminds me I still have to get that Save the Cat book! (and Story, too)
@Darby We'll see if they're any good! But I will have to do some kind of follow-up to this, methinks.
@LTM THANK YOU! I'm glad someone thinks I'm funny (although this post was stone dry)!
@Margo Rick Riordan is my Hero of Funny! And I think you can definitely over-think the funny – it has to be natural. π
Ooo that sounds tough. You are brave! Comedy is hard. It's not so natural for me, and I've found that what I find funny isn't necessarily funny to others. Such a bummer.
Good luck! Your kids will be so proud of you!! π
I suppose there must be some science behind comedy. One thing I've heard that is as important as timing is 'Know Your Audience!'
Sure wish we could get a glimpse at what you come up with π
I love writing humor, considering the fact my husband is a hoot (which I thought was cute when I married him). My youngest kid is just as comical. Me, more in a snarky way. But its one of those things that you can't just make up, so if you aren't humorous, pull from the humorous ones around you.
I love the fluffy clouds behind your blog. They remind me of Pixar for some reason.
I never quite got the connection between comedy and barely concealed rage until I saw Adam Sandler in Punch-Drunk Love. That film made it clear how comedy can often be a socially-acceptably form of aggression. I think you're right that the best comedy goes after things that are hypocritical or unjust and chips away at their power by making them look absurd.
Much luck on this one! And let us know how it turns out. I can producce a few giggles from most anyone, but when I start writing fiction, it's like my funny-well just dries up. I seriously need to work some humor into my writing, but don't have the foggiest notion how to do it. If I can just get my natural good humor into my writing, I know I can do it without over thinking it. But it's like making a live-action movie out of my favorite cartoon. It sounds like a great idea, but the end result is always crap.
But like I said- let us know how it turns out. And let us know what you did to make it work (I just know it will!).
@PK I enjoy the challenge, but the kids def make it worthwhile! And humor is so subjective, even more than "regular" writing. Either it's funny or it's not (to the reader/viewer). Tough!
@JB If it comes out at all presentable, I think I will share a bit. π
@LM I love the naturally talented funny people! You're luck to marry one. π
@Michael They DO look rather Pixar-ish! Never thought of that before. But we're a very kid-friendly blog, so it gets my point across, I think. π
@Laurel And I've never been a fan of biting humor, the very snarky kind that, like you say, is a form of aggression. But we all want to peek behind the curtain of the absurd of the world, I think, as long as it's not personal.
@Queen Thank you! I'm going to need the luck…it's going….slowly. π My humor is usually situational, so I'm going the route of creating the naturally funny sit-com. I think. I'll let you know if it works!
I would put forth another rule to add to: No one gets hurt.
No one on stage laughs.
If the characters are laughing, the reader isn't laughing with them. If the characters are laughing, the reader may get some warm fuzzy feelings, but that's as far as it goes.
@Rebecca I won't write any laughs in, but I'm not sure that's entirely in my control, given we have 6th grade actors. But it's a great point! π
But in a story where "no one gets hurt," can you have depth, growth, or meaning? Maybe the trick is interspersing funny scenes with serious ones.
hi miss susan! wowee that sound like some fun stuff. for sure i could wanna read those skits youre doing. for laughing on stage i think its ok cause it makes it more funny for the audience. if i was doing a funny skit i know id get started laughing up on that stage but i could know how laughing is catching and it ok it it happens but not on purpose.
…laughs and hugs from lenny
I have an award for you today, Susan! π
There's nothing I love more than hearing my kindergartner cracking up at something. Often it's something I never would have guessed would make him laugh so hard. Good luck with your skits. You're braver than me, but I'm sure they'll be great!
@Myrna That's a great question, and I think even in straight-comedies you can have character growth. It just may not be the focus; then again, it may! Characters outgrowing their "humour" might be a major theme. But a lot of movies/books are a mix – romantic comedies, dramadies, etc.
@Lenny I certainly crack up when kids laugh at their own jokes on stage, so I can see how that would make people laugh! So, I think you're right – it's ok, if you just can't help it!:)
@Shannon Thanks so much for the award!! π
@Candice I know – kids laugh, and it's hard not to join in, just cuz they're so cute! Thanks for the luck! I'm going to need it! π
Oh Susan. Good luck to you. What a great mom!
I have an odd sense of humor, so I'm always unsure when using it in my writing. I agree with LM about pulling humor from humorous people around me.
@moonlight Dark Omen (Eldest Son) has that quirky sense of humor too. Mine's more pedestrian. π
Best wishes on this one Sue! It seems like my teen is always laughing at me, but I don't think I'm funny…I think delivery and timing have a lot to do with making something funny, plus being physically funny…quirkiness helps. Good luck on your project. π
@Sharon Delivery is everything! I just found out a talented 6th grader volunteered to be in the skits, and I know several others with wicked comedic timing. I'm hoping they'll be able to take my script and run with it! π
Good luck. It is a lot harder than it seems.
@Bfav You are not kidding, my friend!
Writing comedy is one of the hardest things. My personal opion on that: you either are funny, or you are not. Some are funny without even knowing it. If people laugh with you regularly, you most probably are a natural π
@Stella I can be funny in person (at least, people laugh at me!), but translating that to paper seems a challenge. Thanks for stopping by! π