I’m a sucker for descriptions that help me smell, taste, feel, or otherwise visualize a location. William Kent Kreuger does it better than anyone in his novel This Tender Land, and I tried to capture some of that in my own novel Suddenly Rural Girl. Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson do it well throughout theirContinue reading “Good Descriptions and Figurative Language (Peter and the Star Catchers)”
Tag Archives: #Minnesota
A Touch of Humor. (Peter and the Star Catchers)
Let’s take a look at a few more passages from Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson in their Peter and the Star Catchers series. These are a few that made me chuckle. The Pearson/Barry combination expertly sneaks humor into passages throughout the novels. I’ll post a few of my favorite quotes from the book here andContinue reading “A Touch of Humor. (Peter and the Star Catchers)”
Physicality in Peter and the Star Catchers
Peter and the Star Catchers, and the subsequent novels by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson are treats, especially for those who fell in love with the story of Peter Pan years ago. It’s the first of their prequel novels, and the Pearson/Barry combination expertly weaves all of the magic and playfulness into a story thatContinue reading “Physicality in Peter and the Star Catchers”
The Scent of a Good Story (Peter and the Star Catchers)
Peter and the Star Catchers, by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson is a treat, especially for those who fell in love with the story of Peter Pan years ago. It’s the first of their prequal novels, and the Pearson/Barry combination expertly weave all of the magic and playfulness into a story that explains the magicContinue reading “The Scent of a Good Story (Peter and the Star Catchers)”
Writing Funny: Startled into laughter.
You’ve probably stood behind a corner, smiling, waiting to jump out and scare the daylights out of your wife, friend, or maybe your dog. That anticipation, the quiet-laugh-while-you-wait for something to happen is one of the “causes of laughter.” It’s because you anticipate the shock they’ll experience (knowing it won’t REALLY hurt them). Shock canContinue reading “Writing Funny: Startled into laughter.”
Writing Funny: Traits of Comedic Characters
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”
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”
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…”
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”
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”