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”
Tag Archives: #writingcommunity
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”
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 discountedContinue reading “Give the Gift of a Great Book!”
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 discountedContinue reading “A Christmas Gift for the YA Reader in Your Life!”
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 thoseContinue reading “SRG is now available in Boone, Iowa at The Bookshoppe!”
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”