… timing. Truly, I think this this is what makes writing funny more difficult than performing funny. In a performance, you can hold for a split-second to be sure the audience is following before hitting them with the punchline. Then, you can stop, start, speed up, slow-down, repeat, change your inflection, or pull the escapeContinue reading “Writing Funny: It’s all about the…”
Author Archives: Hurlbert
Deep Valley Book Festival in Mankato!
If you’re in the Mankato Area on October 5, swing by the Deep Valley Book Festival and say hi! I’ll be manning a table from 10am to 3pm! The DVBF provides readers the chance to interact with their favorite authors and meet new ones. This FREE family event features authors, illustrators, publishers, book sales andContinue reading “Deep Valley Book Festival in Mankato!”
Writing Funny: Rewrite your Joke
Your clever line may be hilarious–but if you or 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 ChangeContinue reading “Writing Funny: Rewrite your Joke”
SRG is now available at a cute little store in cute little Marion, Iowa!
A HUGE thank you to Swamp Fox Bookstore in Marion, Iowa for adding Suddenly Rural Girl to their collection! (Just outside Cedar Rapids.) If you live in the area or know folks who do, please stop by this great little Indie Bookstore! (We gotta support all local businesses–including those cute little Indie Bookstores!) For moreContinue reading “SRG is now available at a cute little store in cute little Marion, Iowa!”
Writing Funny: Horror Stories are Easy
Sad and scary things are universal. Evolution and Emotion have teamed up to make the dark-and-unknown scary and death-and-dying sad. Things that make us laugh is more nuanced and varies more from culture to culture, person to person . . . and political party to political party. (Memes featuring cats and ducks with guns wearingContinue reading “Writing Funny: Horror Stories are Easy”
Ships & Bricks: alike in the way they’re different.
This was another simple, absurd, and entertaining description from Hitchhiker’s Guide. When we draw parallels we frequently compare like things. The choice to combine “these two things that are similar because their not” caught me pleasantly off guard. I’ve been looking for some funny books of late–the kind that make you laugh out loud. They’reContinue reading “Ships & Bricks: alike in the way they’re different.”
Rosemount’s Country Faire is this Saturday!
This weekend is the Rosemount Minnesota hosts it’s big Country Faire Arts event! There’s a lot going on, and it can be fun for the whole family! Here’s some of what you can expect: Plus, if you’re there, swing by and say hi! I’ll be at a table signing copies of Suddenly Rural Girl, too!Continue reading “Rosemount’s Country Faire is this Saturday!”
“…more AK-47s than Budweisers.”
Here’s one more post from Dave Barry’s Big Trouble: Bar names, all by themselves can be funny. The Drunken Donkey, The Pint of No Return, and Psycho Suzi’s Motor Lounge & Tiki Garden. The Jolly Jackal brings an entertaining image to mind. Barry takes it a step further with another one of those exaggerations (andContinue reading ““…more AK-47s than Budweisers.””
SRG is now available at BookStacks in Bucksport, Maine!
A HUGE thank you to the BookStacks crew in Bucksport, Maine for adding Suddenly Rural Girl to their inventory! If you live in the area or know folks who do, please stop by this great little Indie Bookstore! (We gotta support all local businesses–including those Indie Bookstores.) Suddenly Rural Girl is available lots of places,Continue reading “SRG is now available at BookStacks in Bucksport, Maine!”
Comparing Incomparables
The overstatement understatement have been perfected by teenagers. Lifting it out of Comedy into Middle or High Comedy requires some smarts. Here Barry uses incomparable comparisons, drawing a parallel between massive human tragedy and a light-hearted spring dance. That wasn’t enough, though. Nothing good happens in Stephen King novels–which gets us eagerly anticipating “what happensContinue reading “Comparing Incomparables”
“…even though your head is shaped like an anvil…”
This was a fantastic back-handed compliment that uses both exaggeration and incongruity to get the laugh. Initially it’s hopeful. If delivered by an attractive and “ditsy blonde” character–it might actually be intended as a compliment. The dim-witted recipient might also believe it was a compliment. For the reader (of higher intelligence) we see the unintended,Continue reading ““…even though your head is shaped like an anvil…””
“Both legs were hanging down his back”
Bumbling crooks have long been a part of comedy. Two of the most iconic are probably Harry and Marv from the Home Alone movies. Yes, they’re dangerous, but they’re also dumb enough to for us (and Kevin) to stay one step ahead of them. Dave Barry offers two comparable crooks, Snake & Eddie, in BigContinue reading ““Both legs were hanging down his back””