I’m nearly done with my comic thriller, The Worst Thing About Sam, I wanted to re-post some of these “Writing Funny” tips I pulled together along the way:
Your clever line may be hilarious–but if you tweak it (or twerk it, depending on your audience), it could be funnier.
First, and always, consider your audience. Catholics tend to think Olympic Ceremonies co-mingling drag queens and the Last Supper is unfunny. Liberals rarely appreciate jokes referencing Global Cooling, Global Warming, or Climate Change . . . or whatever the trillion-dollar-grift is called now. Teen boys think “your mom” jokes are hilarious; your mom doesn’t.
Next, play with your word choice and sentence structure. Barf is a funnier dog name than Spot. Noob is funnier sounding than inexperienced. And if your rambling complaint can be summed up with eat my shorts you’re on the right track–even Bart Simpson knows that.
In his book, How to Write Funny, Scott Dikkers suggests practicing your verbal pratfalls. A comma here or a word swap there–especially with your audience in mind–can be the difference between a knee-slapper and a sigh. And, as you write, worry less. Just write and rewrite. Your audience–maybe your mom–will let you know.
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