  Comedy
This week: Edited by: NanoWriMo2018 Into the Earth  
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Hi. I'm Robin and I'll be your guest editor for this week's Comedy Newsletter |
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"Never throw up on an editor."
- Ellen Datlow
Sound advice. 
Comedy in your work doesn’t have to be slap-tick funny, nor does it need to be present during every word. Weaving humor into your story every now and again can prove just as effective as perpetual unbroken rhythms. How do you accomplish this?
Well, for me, funny boils down to the characters you create as well as the narrator you chose to tell your story. (There are other factors influencing your hilarity, but those didn’t make it into this newsletter.
The beauty of fiction is the sheer freedom the author has during creation. Your characters don’t have to adhere to social or moral restrictions when it comes to action or dialogue. Characters don’t have to be “PC”. Your narrator is allowed to describe the world according to him. And even if you decide to create characters or a narrator with politically correct moral fiber(s), you can still have your story’s narrator present his/her view of the world comedic fashion.
Share the storyteller’s thoughts. The narrator of the story can really underscore and increase a story's funny factor.
Here is are a few scenes from John Grisham’s A Painted House.
Not a word was spoken. Before us were five endless days of overwhelming labor and heat, followed by Saturday, which on Monday seemed as far away as Christmas.
This sentence alone isn’t funny. It does, however, bring a smile to the face of the reader during the story, which is told through the eyes of a seven year-old boy named Luke. Luke picks cotton all week and longs for Saturday afternoons when he’s allowed to go into town with his friends for fun and leisure. A few paragraphs later, the reader reads this:
Over supper on Thursday, Pappy announced, “We won’t be goin’ to town on Saturday.”
I felt like crying. It was harsh enough to labor in the fields all week, but to do so without the reward of popcorn and a movie was down right cruel. What about my weekly Coca-Cola?
The Coca-Cola line cements my smile. The prize of a seven year old.
If Grisham had picked a teenage girl to narrate his story, these lines would be different. The “far away as Christmas” holding relevance to teenage life……seemed as far away as Prom.
In another scene, Grisham has his narrator sitting in a pew during a long church sermon. Ricky is the narrator’s brother who is off fighting in Korea.
Ricky’d once said that Mr. Burbin had a lot more sense than Brother Akers, and he’d offered his opinion over Sunday dinner and created trouble yet again. It was a sin to criticize your preacher, at least out loud.
The “out loud” part makes the sentence cute. Sharing the storyteller’s POV, with all his opinions, descriptions, and views can make a story funnier. Remember, with a little effort, you can sprinkle light humor into your stories and in doing so, gain a solid readership.
Remember, comedy in unexpected small doses provides a lightheartedness to your work appreciated by your readers, oh, and...“Never throw up on an editor.”
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monty31802
Some good advice in this well written newsletter.
billwilcox
Great job Robin--comprehensive and easy to understand.
lkokko
I justread your news letter regarding hero's and plot/story development. I knew these things - sort of - but you were able to put them into clearer focus. Good news letter.
larryp
Good newsletter Robin.
I liked the comparison used about potatoes and potato salad and the statement that "more is better" in action/adventure writing.
I even liked the idea of being organized; how did you know I was rolling my eyes?
Good newsletter
Larry
Acme 
Thanks for highlighting one of my stories, Robin. Your plot recipe makes this another newsletter to save for future reference |
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Comedy: November 26, 2008 Issue [#2742]
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