  Comedy
This week: Inappropriate Laughter Edited by: Sara♥Jean  
More Newsletters By This Editor 
1. About this Newsletter
2. A Word from our Sponsor
3. Letter from the Editor
4. Editor's Picks
5. A Word from Writing.Com
6. Ask & Answer
7. Removal instructions
| Thank you so much for allowing me to guest in your inbox today! I hope you have fun! |
| ASIN: B07NPKP5BF |
Product Type: Toys & Games
|
Amazon's Price: Price N/A
|
|
Inappropriate Laughter
If you think about it carefully, most of what we laugh at should not actually be funny. So why do we do it?
So, laughter is truly contagious. I think that people are certainly more likely to laugh when they hear other people laughing, even if the things being laughed at aren't particularly funny. If you doubt me, try this youtube video of newscasters who break into random laughter (or not so random, sometimes it is quite evident what they are chuckling at):
Contagious, wasn't it? Laughter is that way. (I happen to also think crying is contagious, but luckily, I don't have to worry about that.)
One evidence of this, especially in daytime television, is a "laugh track". Remove that laugh track from many shows, and they become significantly less funny.
In books and stories, we don't have this advantage. We don't have an audience that we can flash with an "applause" or "laughter" sign, and we can't insert a laugh track in our story. We can, however, have characters who are amused by happenings. We need to be careful about how we apply this power.
If the character is rude or mean about what they are amused by, it will nearly immediately make a villain in the eyes of the reader. For some characters, we want that. We want them to be hated, and so adding in the mean type of inappropriate humor works well. However, it does not encourage people to laugh along. It makes them rather disgusted, normally.
For characters that are loved, we really need to be careful how they react to the funny situations. When someone falls, this type of character can still be amused, but they would be the type who is amused and still extends a hand to help the person up. THIS is the type of character that your readers will laugh WITH. They tease along with someone, rather than picking at sore emotional wounds.
Another good way to make your readers laugh is through slapstick. If someone is clumsy, or silly, or ditzy, or just outright abnormal and can completely not mind being that way, then they can be a great source of laughter for your readers, especially if these types of characters are prone to laugh at themselves, brush themselves off, and move forward. |
| |  | Invalid Item
This item number is not valid.
#2053528 by Not Available. |
| | | Invalid Item
This item number is not valid.
#2053252 by Not Available. |
|
Have an opinion on what you've read here today? Then send the Editor feedback! Find an item that you think would be perfect for showcasing here? Submit it for consideration in the newsletter!
https://www.Writing.Com/go/nl_form
Don't forget to support our sponsor!
| ASIN: 1542722411 |
|
Amazon's Price: $ 12.99
|
|
Thank you so much for having me visit your inbox! Be sure to give lots of feedback for the regular editors of Comedy to use.  And make some submissions, too! |
| ASIN: B00KN0JEYA |
Product Type: Kindle Store
|
Amazon's Price: $ 4.99
|
|
To stop receiving this newsletter, click here for your newsletter subscription list. Simply uncheck the box next to any newsletter(s) you wish to cancel and then click to "Submit Changes". You can edit your subscriptions at any time.
|
Comedy: August 19, 2015 Issue [#7169]
View Portfolio
Visit Notebook
Send Gift Points
Awards
Badges
Send Email
Community Newsfeed
General Discussion
Sponsored Items
Book of Trinkets
Static Items
Books
Groups
Interactive Stories
Audio
Campfire Creatives
Community Notes
Crossword Puzzles
Documents
Folders
Images
In & Outs
Madlibs
Photo Albums
Polls
Product Reviews
Quizzes
Survey Forms
Web Pages
Word Searches
