Writing Funny: Traits of Comedic Characters

I’m nearly done with my comic thriller, The Worst Thing About Sam, so I wanted to re-post some of these “Writing Funny” tips I pulled together along the way:

Stereotypes are real. We all carry them and we represent that remark. 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 do you call a Lawyer,” jokes, and for those of us in Minnesota, the “Sven and Ole” jokes. The simple character descriptions make the characters simple-minded, removes their humanity, and makes them easy and funny targets.

Scott Dikkers says your comedic characters should be limited to just a couple traits. Well-developed characters can be funny, too, but it’s easier to get a light-hearted laugh if the audience isn’t also processing the character’s life-long baggage. Heavy stuff isn’t funny–except Chris Farley, John Belushi, and John Candy. They were heavy and HILARIOUS.

Be sure to subscribe, below, to get updates about The Worst Thing About Sam . . . and if you know of any books that made you laugh out loud, let me know!

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“Her heart and smile… “from The Red Texts Club, by Andrea VanRyken

The Red Text Club starts with real and quirky characters who draw you in…much like this quote does.” Who doesn’t love someone with a heart and smile as big as all outdoors? I do, and I liked this description.

The Red Texts Club digs deeply and creatively into the teenage mind—more specifically the minds of teens dealing with depression. I struggled a little with some repetitive descriptive phrases, but overall enjoyed the read. Andrea VanRyken creates a diverse cast of colorful, talented, yet insecure teens that converge in a sci-fi world designed by and fitting for a person experiencing depression: bland landscape, murky shadows, faceless monsters, and more. The author also ties in characters that teens are bound to love, a curious puzzle-solver, a talented gamer, and a handsome athlete, all whom excel at something, but still question their worth. It featured kid-sized horror coupled with big-time creativity, and the story cleverly addresses depression, a real-life issues facing many of our young people today. (If that’s doesn’t describe most teens—and many adults—I don’t know what does.) You can learn more about Andrea and her work in GoodReads.

I regularly share well-written lines and passages from the books I’m reading. If you’d like to receive them regularly, just enter your email below, and click subscribe!

Father Elijah: “Social Law vs Natural Law”

When social laws do not obey natural law, society will fight it. It’s why absurdities like suggesting that biological males who “live as” a woman have actually become a woman. Those who honor natural law and understand the importance of applying them to societal laws will, naturally, push back. Two societal examples of that require us to push back against unnatural societal laws include #savewomenssports and being #prolife. It’s why this quote popped out to me:

“In theology, we maintain that social law must be grounded in natural law–the principles God has written into creation…”

Unfortunately, many of our teachers, politicians, and church leaders are actively teaching a contradictory, social, construct. However you feel, at any given moment, should be the law. That position leads to societal discord and perhaps societal destruction. Father Elijah captured the importance of honoring Natural Law, the principles God has written into creation, or face the consequences. May we work together to return to respecting all lives, and to protecting and creating equal opportunities for women and girls in sports–and beyond.

To catch more quotes from what I’m reading, be sure to subscribe! And, to learn more about my first novel, co-written with my talented daughter, visit https://dannhurlbert.com/suddenly-rural-girl/

Book cover of 'Suddenly Rural Girl' featuring a girl with braided hair and a scenic background, alongside authors Dann and Kennedy Hurlbert smiling together.

Suddenly Rural Girl is available lots of places, including dannhurlbert.com, Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Christianbook, and it’s an easy add for libraries and bookstores because it’s also available on Ingram and Bookshop! (ISBN 978-1-959681-33-5). And after you read it . . . don’t forget to write a review!

Father Elijah: “Within time and beyond…”

This is insightful reminder comes from two characters seated deep within the Roman catacombs. We’re reminded that “time on earth” does not equivocate with the amount of time left for us. For me, it is incredibly freeing. When the end comes, it simply means a new beginning.

“A Christian lives both within time and beyond it. I’m closer [to the latter] than most of those walking and talking up there on the surface.”

To catch more quotes from what I’m reading, be sure to subscribe! And, to learn more about my first novel, co-written with my talented daughter, visit https://dannhurlbert.com/suddenly-rural-girl/

Book cover of 'Suddenly Rural Girl' featuring a girl with braided hair and a scenic background, alongside authors Dann and Kennedy Hurlbert smiling together.

Suddenly Rural Girl is available lots of places, including dannhurlbert.com, Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Christianbook, and it’s an easy add for libraries and bookstores because it’s also available on Ingram and Bookshop! (ISBN 978-1-959681-33-5). And after you read it . . . don’t forget to write a review!

Father Elijah: His voice . . .

There were only a few passages in this novel that caught my attention for their descriptive nature. The book was good, thoughtful, and well-written, but there was little use of expressive parts of speech or flowery language. One effective comparison did stick, though, the author described the voice of a wise and aging pope:

“His voice was deep, modulated with that hint of age which denotes dignity, rather than decline.”

Somehow, I knew exactly how that voice sounded. Perhaps I had heard that tone before. Perhaps I could just imagine the difference between dignified and declining. Either way, that description, the comparison of an aging gentleman’s voice, was simple and perfect.

To catch more quotes from what I’m reading, be sure to subscribe! And, to learn more about my first novel, co-written with my talented daughter, visit https://dannhurlbert.com/suddenly-rural-girl/

Suddenly Rural Girl is available lots of places, including dannhurlbert.com, Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Christianbook, and it’s an easy add for libraries and bookstores because it’s also available on Ingram and Bookshop! (ISBN 978-1-959681-33-5). And after you read it . . . don’t forget to write a review!

Father Elijah

A friend recommend this “Apocalypse” book to me, and it was the sweetest, most innocent, and least terrifying book about end times I’ve encountered.

Don’t get me wrong, the prophecies surrounding the end times are scary, but this journey of Father Elijah captures one honest man’s point-of-view of how the end begins: a global governing body and its captivating president successfully position itself as the authority on moral and societal law. Religious groups are quietly displaced–many willingly.

As always, I tend to pull a few quotes from each book I read and share them. Either the passage is beautifully or descriptively written . . . or there is some human truth captured in just a sentence or two. Here’s one that struck me as honest and real.

“It’s the disease of the century.  C.S. Lewis called these people Late Western Man.  They’re educated, affluent, restless, and unfulfilled.”

The unwritten questions the author challenges us with is “What will fulfill them–and what are they willing to do to achieve what they believe will bring fulfillment?” This 1996 novel explores one path. It’s an easy and intriguing read. It’s also not too difficult to see this playing out in today’s world.

To catch more quotes from what I’m reading, be sure to subscribe! And, to learn more about my first novel, co-written with my talented daughter, visit https://dannhurlbert.com/suddenly-rural-girl/

Suddenly Rural Girl is available lots of places, including dannhurlbert.com, Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Christianbook, and it’s an easy add for libraries and bookstores because it’s also available on Ingram and Bookshop! (ISBN 978-1-959681-33-5). And after you read it . . . don’t forget to write a review!

Lunatics: Two Authors & A Ludicrous Story

Dave Barry and Alan Zweibel tag-teamed in 2012 for this novel, and it was a fun one . . . if you can suspend your disbelief again and again and again. I can. I enjoyed the repeated and unbelievable twists and turns. As I outlined in some previous posts, writing funny involves exaggeration, grotesqueness, shock, and sometimes being offensive. Lunatics effectively uses all of those strategies. It was especially fun seeing each author embody a different character and chapter. If you’re looking for an unbelievable storyline and two highly entertaining antagonists (I’m not sure if there was a protagonist), this might be a book for you. This quote hooks the reader from page one:

I also apologize to all three branches of government, Arnie and Sue Kogen, and to both the General Assembly and Security Council of the United Nations for any role we may have played–and I assure you it wsa completely inadvertent–in exacerbating world tensions.”

I’ve been reading–and working on writing a funny thriller. The humor is easier for me than the action thriller aspect. You can learn more about Barry, Zweibel, and Lunatics on GoodReads. And if you know of any action or thriller books that made you laugh out loud, let me know!

To keep up on more of what I’m reading and writing, subscribe below!

The Terrorist Next Door

I don’t generally read thrillers, but I think Chicago is a fantastic city, and this premise caught my eye. As with most cop thrillers, The Terrorist Next Door, by Sheldon Seigle, walks us through a familiar series of dead-end-suspect-interviews and red herrings, eventually circling back to finding the criminal. This book expertly offered believable and nuanced characters, and some interesting and detailed geographic and cultural history of the Chicago area; the hook & action also continued to intensify to the satisfactory conclusion. Overall, I enjoyed it, and he re-used a phrase that’s familiar and that challenges our idea of empathy: “One man’s terrorist is another’s freedom fighter.”

I’ve been reading–and working on writing a “funny thriller.” To me, the humor is easier than the tension. You can learn more about Sheldon Seigle and his thriller-writing career on GoodReads. And if you know of any “thrillers” that made you laugh out loud, let me know!

To keep up on more of what I’m reading and writing, subscribe below!

Give the Gift of a Great Book!

Suddenly Rural Girl is the perfect Christmas gift to your favorite Young Adult reader this Holiday Season! Teens will fall in love with our protagonist, Dakota Moore, as she faces life, death, mean girls, and cute boys in a small Midwestern town.

For a limited time, you can get a signed copy at our discounted price by using the coupon code $5off4Christmas in our store!

When you check out, be sure to add a note about who you’d like the copy personalized for!

Of course, you can also order Suddenly Rural Girl in lots of other places, too, including Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Christianbook, and you can ask your local indie bookstore to order a copy, too! Ingram and Bookshop! (ISBN 978-1-959681-33-5). Then, after you read it . . . don’t forget to write a review!

A Christmas Gift for the YA Reader in Your Life!

Suddenly Rural Girl is the perfect Christmas gift to your favorite Young Adult reader this Holiday Season! Readers will fall in love with our protagonist, Dakota Moore, as she faces life, death, mean girls, and cute boys in a small Midwestern town.

For a limited time you can get a signed copy at our discounted price by using the coupon code $5off4Christmas in our store!

When you check out, be sure to add a note about who you’d like the copy personalized for!

Of course, you can also order Suddenly Rural Girl in lots of other places, too, including Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Christianbook, and you can ask your local indie bookstore to order a copy, too! Ingram and Bookshop! (ISBN 978-1-959681-33-5). Then, after you read it . . . don’t forget to write a review!

Sioux Falls Friends: Literature & Lattes is TODAY!

Literature & Lattes is a pretty impressive autumn Literature Event in south eastern South Dakota. If you’re in the Sioux Falls area this Saturday, October 26, swing by the festival in the Brandon Golf Course Ballroom! Be sure to stop by the Suddenly Rural Girl table to say hello, too! (I’ll be at a table at the book fair from 9am to 3pm!)

Unfortunately, my talented teen daughter and co-author won’t be there with me, but it’ll still be a great event!

Literature and Lattes is a FREE, family-friendly, traditional-values, multi-genre book event featuring writing workshops and book signings by authors from South Dakota and around the country. Books available include fantasy, romance (clean), children’s, devotionals, non-fiction, suspense, paranormal, and more.  (Other vendors include food trucks, coffee baristas, treats, and a plethora of coffee and book-related merchandise to thrill the book lover in us all.) Whether you’re a reader, writer, coffee connoisseur, or all of the above – if you like the idea of snuggling in with a good book and a sweet treat while the aroma of coffee wafts through the air – this event is for you!

Here’s more info: https://www.sdliteratureandlattes.com/

Hope to see you there!

Suddenly Rural Girl is available lots of places, including dannhurlbert.com, Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Christianbook, and it’s an easy add for libraries and bookstores because it’s also available on Ingram and Bookshop! (ISBN 978-1-959681-33-5). And after you read it . . . don’t forget to write a review!

SRG is now available in Boone, Iowa at The Bookshoppe!

A HUGE thank you to Susan and the crew at The Bookshoppe in Boone, IA for adding Suddenly Rural Girl to their inventory! If you live in the Boone, Ames, and Demoines area–or know folks who do–we’d love to have people stop by this great little Indie Bookstore! (We gotta support all local businesses–including those Indie Bookstores.)

Below is a link their website . . . and holy waaaah! They’ve got a lot of books!

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Suddenly Rural Girl is available lots of places, including dannhurlbert.com, Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Christianbook, and it’s an easy add for libraries and bookstores because it’s also available on Ingram and Bookshop! (ISBN 978-1-959681-33-5). And after you read it . . . don’t forget to write a review!