This week: Slapstick Comedy Edited by: Legerdemain  
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The purpose of this newsletter is to help the Writing.com comedy author hone their craft and improve their skills. Along with that I would like to inform, advocate, and create new, fresh ideas for the comedic author. Write to me if you have an idea you would like presented.
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Slapstick Comedy
What exactly is a slap stick? It's a device consisting of two flexible pieces of wood joined together at one end, used by clowns and in pantomime to produce a loud slapping noise which can sound like a whip
plural noun: slapsticks
And slapstick comedy? Slapstick is a style of humor involving exaggerated physical activity that exceeds the boundaries of normal physical comedy. Slapstick may involve both intentional violence and violence by mishap, often resulting from inept use of props such as saws and ladders.
When I think of physical comedy, I think of the Three Stooges. But there were so many more comedians that used slapstick, clowning, mime, and (my previous edition) pratfalls. Some other comedians to employ physical comedy as a medium for their characters include Don Knotts, Jerry Lewis, Danny Kaye, Martin Short, Marilyn Monroe, the Keystone Kops, Laurel and Hardy, Abbott and Costello, and the Marx Brothers.
Think about these comedians when creating a scene where you might have your character become clumsy. What can happen? The awkward moments can certainly break the seriousness of a moment, or bring two people together in a sudden way. Two of my characters, who were visiting someone in the hospital, ended up entering and exiting the cafeteria at the same time...one ended up with a broken nose. So be careful!
So think about adding some silly or fun moments to your story. And as always, Write On!
This month's question: Have you used slapstick humor in your writing? Send in your answer below!  Editors love feedback! |
Excerpt: Forty years old, Mrs. Polly Fortunate still adhered to the societal rules drilled into her mind since childhood.
Dress like a lady every time you leave the house because you may see someone your father knows. Do not talk about other people in restaurants. They may be sitting nearby. Also, when dining out, no one should be aware of your presence.
Excerpt: Old Fraidy Cat was my Mama's cat, although I held the belief that he belonged to me. Actually, whether I or my mama knew it or not, Old Fraidy Cat was his own cat. Mama found him one Sunday afternoon at the Old Regular Baptist fried chicken affair.
| | | VANITY VARMINTS (E)
a critter-cally acclaimed flash fable where vanity refuses to yield to reality
#2155089 by DRSmith  |
Excerpt: Despite the pomposities, this pretentious trio all had one glaring flaw in common— dreadful buckteeth. Yet, they were not to be dismayed; each convinced they had what it took to win the photo shoot for the cover of Critter Magazine's Easter Edition.
Excerpt: I had no idea what to get my brother-in-law, Stanley, for his twelfth birthday. Stanley was a weird sort of a kid who found humor in the bizarre. That being what it was, my gift had to celebrate his ‘kookiness’.
Excerpt: Ever since I was a child, I've been clumsy. And not just clumsy, but awkward...different...an outsider. When two captains were choosing their teams, I would invariably be the last one picked.
Excerpt: I’ve taken on a few quests in my time but never one as complicated as this. It was bad enough that there were so many places to be and all at the correct time, but some of the instructions were just weird. I was still trying to get everything sorted out in my head when I arrived at the first destination.
Excerpt: “We have to give a speech in English about the funniest Christmas. I couldn’t think of one so I asked Gramma and she said, ‘Go ask your grandfather about the Christmas of ‘75.”
Excerpt: On most weekday mornings, Richard McKellop can be found sitting in a booth next to a window at Shorty's Diner. There, the thirty-seven-year-old father of two, sucks-up several Diet Cokes while perusing the morning Register. The pleasant hour of leisure sets Richard’s mind right before driving to Lloyd's Hardware where he is employed in the screen door repair department.
Excerpt: “Get your waders on! Man the oars matey!” This giant green being with wings to match roared orders at me.
I jumped out of bed. “What and who are you? And why are you in my bedroom?”
“Pish posh, get a move on, human. Didn’t you ask for rain?” He bellowed as the dog slunk under my bed. “I am the rain fairy. You can call me H Two Oh.”
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This month's question: Have you used slapstick humor in your writing? Send in your answer below! Editors love feedback!
"Comedy Newsletter (June 14, 2023)" question: How would you use a pratfall in your writing?
Annette  : I did not know the term Pratfall. It is so true that Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton had a unique way to make the audiences laugh without resorting to ridiculing anyone else. The Pratfall seems to be such a visual joke that it's going to take me a moment to translate that into a story action without having it come across as heavy handed. I want to try though.
Beholden  : Thank you very much for including my short story, "The Interesting Case of Mrs Ganly" [E], among your Editor's Picks.
PB Curtis  : I need to read this. I've never heard of a pratfall. 🤔
I get it now. Reminds me of this one time when I was married, my wife, along with me and my stepson were coming out of Friendly's. My wife slipped, landed on her ass. I knew she was fine. Suddenly, I turned into a baseball umpire, gliding both of my arms across, and yelling out, "SAFE!"
My stepson laughed, and so did the couple sitting in a parked car in front of us. 🤣 And no, that's not the reason I'm not longer married.
s : Pratfalls in my writing? How about pratfalls in my performing?
I am one of these acrobats... https://youtu.be/_iFhQAtpY_o
rupali: I use often a pratfall in my writing.
keyisfake : Oh, yeah one of my characters is a walking pitfall when he's in or near a kitchen. It's become so bad he said his mother redecorated her kitchen three times and but he's never seen it.
tj ~ endeavors to persevere!  : I've clowned around used pratfalls in life, but I haven't used them in writing. No, wait. Perhaps I did a time or more? No -- yes...! I don't know, I don't remember!
Actually, I have used them occasionally to add some humor to an otherwise serious part of the story.
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Comedy: August 09, 2023 Issue [#12115]
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