… timing. Got a few more of these “Writing Funny” tips that stood out: 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,Continue reading “Writing Funny: It’s all about the…”
Tag Archives: Minnesota
Writing Funny: Horror Stories are Easy
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: 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 isContinue reading “Writing Funny: Horror Stories are Easy”
Writing Funny: Surprise People
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: 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 orContinue reading “Writing Funny: Surprise People”
Writing Funny: Comfort & Affliction
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: 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 s/heContinue reading “Writing Funny: Comfort & Affliction”
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 toContinue reading “Writing Funny: Traits of Comedic Characters”
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,Continue reading “Lunatics: Two Authors & A Ludicrous Story”
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 andContinue reading “The Terrorist Next Door”
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.””
Some SRG Characters & Marketing Images
When I write, I always Googled for images of locations and people who I think resemble my characters. Then I print those images and stick them on a HUGE cork board as a reference during the process. (Curious if anyone else writes this way?) I did the same for Suddenly Rural Girl, our Christian YAContinue reading “Some SRG Characters & Marketing Images”
“Call me Eddie, if . . .”
We’re hurling toward death. Tension is high. Eddie remains calm, cool and collected. He’s comfortable with potential disaster, and he offers some of that calm to his fellow travelers. “Call me Eddie, if it will help you relax.” Absurdity and dry humor is alive and well in Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. I’ve been lookingContinue reading ““Call me Eddie, if . . .””
Favorite Kindle Quotes: William Kent Krueger (5)
As I read my Kindle, I highlight intriguing or beautifully descriptive passages from the novel. Here are a few recent . . . “My mother couldn’t rail directly at God and so she railed instead at my father.” William Kent Krueger, Ordinary Grace “In a small town nothing is private. Word spreads with the incomprehensibilityContinue reading “Favorite Kindle Quotes: William Kent Krueger (5)”