Stereotypes are real. We’ve all carry them. If we’re wise or well-disciplined, we don’t take action on them–moving from stereotyping to discriminating. Stereotypes are often ignorant and unfair, but they can be funny. Playing off them–or creating them–effectively can help you get some laughs. You’ve seen it a thousand times: “Dumb Blonde” jokes, “What doContinue reading “Writing Funny: Traits of Comedic Characters”
Category Archives: YA
Writing Funny: Comfort & Affliction
No one wants to see the innocent child beaten down, but most of us do like too see the tables turned on the bully, so he or finally gets his or her comeuppance. The general population also has some common, shared, arch-enemies: violent criminals, corrupt government officials, the dictator, “boss,” and more; they’ve become tooContinue reading “Writing Funny: Comfort & Affliction”
Rosemount, MN: Meet the Authors on Oct. 17!
The Rosemount Area Arts Council hosts a “Meet the Authors” Series, and Kennedy and I thrilled to be the featured authors this month! We’d love to see friends, family, and avid YA readers and writers at the Robert Trail Library on October 17th at 6:30pm. For more about the RAAC Meet the Authors Series, visitContinue reading “Rosemount, MN: Meet the Authors on Oct. 17!”
Brookings, SD Book Signing!
The Nook is a cute bookstore on Main Street in Brookings, SD, and they’ve invited Kennedy and me in for a book signing event on October 24, from 5:30-7pm! (Kennedy is a busy teen and won’t make the trip, but I’d still love to have you swing by to say hi, and to check outContinue reading “Brookings, SD Book Signing!”
Writing Funny: Surprise People
Twists and Reversals are great ways to get laughs–and to scare the daylights out of folks. For the grin, let the underdog overcome the Goliath or make the cute and cuddly pull off the caper. Even a sudden scare can often lead to a laugh, especially if the audience knows it hasn’t truly harmed theirContinue reading “Writing Funny: Surprise People”
Writing Funny: Humor in Any Situation
Years ago, I taught an acting and film unit called “The Seven Causes of Laughter” and it covered things like Exaggeration, Incongruity, Protection Factor, Relief of Pressure, and more. Relief of Pressure is an important concept when trying to find humor in difficult situations. When tension builds or emotions are already high, a well-timed quipContinue reading “Writing Funny: Humor in Any Situation”
Writing Funny: It’s all about the…
… 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…”
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.”