Friday, November 30, 2012

Adding Humour in our Stories

Humour is one of my favourite elements of a story/book. If a book can make me laugh, then I tend to read the book again and again. I love books with lots of humour.

Humour is one of the most important elements in our stories and also the hardest to get it right. As writers we have only words at our disposal to depict humour and create humorous situations. I have discovered that there are several ways to add humour in our stories. Here are a few of them.

1.      The names of characters/places/people/objects can be funny. 

2.       Characters can be given some quirks: a twitch, a distinctive style of   
        talking or a weird way of dressing to evoke humour.

3.       One of the best ways of adding humour is through descriptions. Funny descriptions like “she had spread like melted butter.” “A bee could get lost in the hair on his body,” evoke humour.

4.      We can conjure up a Comedy of  Errors through our words.

5.       Dialogues are a perfect place to add humour.

6.      Another way to add humour is through internal conversation.

7.      We have to find new and funny way to say the same thing.

8.     A fantastic way to add humour is via Satire and Irony. Irony is the use of
       words to express the opposite of their literal meaning. Satire is the use of
       irony or wit to attack something. But its also extremely difficult because  
       if not handled well it can  leave the reader confused. I seldom use satire
       and irony as I am not very confident I can do them justice.

9.      Funny metaphors and similes that give a comical twist to a familiar image in a reader's mind are a perfect way to add humour. “ He was as thin as a breadstick.”
       “His chin wobbled like jelly.”

10. One of the best advice I have received for adding humour is to stir the senses. Sensory
      Humour is giving funny descriptions when describing something with  
      the five senses: especially while describing sounds, tastes and smells.
           
Do you like humour in the books you read? How do you all add humour in your stories? Is there any humour secret you would like to share? Please tell us, we all can learn from it.

28 comments:

  1. Humor is perhaps the most important ingredinet even in the serious subjects!Characterisations and witty diagloues can add a lot of humor in writing. As such you have made a comprehensive list, Rachna:)

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  2. Liked your post. ma'am. Humour is an important ingredient in books. I hope your post helps the inspiring writers. I enjoyed reading your helpful tips. :)

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  3. I think humour is one of those things hardest to pin down, so subjective. But magical when it works.

    mood
    Moody Writing

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  4. I think it's wonderful when a book makes me laugh out loud. I'm not sure my writing is funny, but people have told me it's humorous.

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  5. Great tips Rachna. I'm not a funny person so don't use much humor.

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  6. Great list, Rachna!

    I use some humor in dialogue, but I'm not confident in my skills to go beyond that. Plus, my books tend not to be humor based.

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  7. Great list, Rachna! I love to add humor in my stories. It tends to come in a natural way because I have a sense of humor in real life as well. However, I can't predict if readers will laugh at the touch of humor I like to add to my stories. I do appreciate satire and irony. Witty humor. Lovely post.

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  8. About the only way I can do humor successfully is through character dialog.

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  9. Hi friends, as I am a huge fan of humour, I look for ways to add it in my stories. And as I write for the Middle Grade audience, it becomes important to add huge doses of humour to keep the readers entertained.

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  10. I use physical humor a lot. My mc is a bit clumsy, but usually it's things out of her control. Her internal dialogue is also self-deprecating, which can be pretty funny.

    Love this post, Rachna. Thank you!

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  11. I love humor and place humorous situations in my books. Sometimes its guy humor so some women may not "get it."

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  12. Humor is definitely difficult to master. Ask any Vulcan. But I've found that the softer the delivery the better chance it has of working. Humor works best when unexpected and not overplayed. I'm of the opinion that the author shouldn't tip his hand and make the reader expect the funny that's coming. Setups rarely work--at least for me. Subtle is sublime.

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  13. I love humor in stories too. I think characters with a sense of humor are easy to relate to. Thanks for the great tips!

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  14. Very true Rachna, and thanks a lot for the tips.

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  15. I agree on the importance of humour, and you have given a pretty comprehensive list of its possible sources. I do look for opportunities for humour in my writing, but I try not to stray or strain to hard for it. It easily becomes false humour,I believe, detracting from the writing's main aim.

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  16. There's not much humor in my writing. Maybe your suggestions will help me add some.

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  17. I love adding humor. All of my picture books are funny and my MG novels have sprinkles of humor throughout. This is a very important tool in a writers toolkit. *waves*

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  18. Writing humor is not one of my strong suits, but your tips are helpful in considering how to improve. Thanks!

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  19. Hello Ma'am Rachna! I think the humour is one cut-edge technique to include in the story. This neutralises the seriousness of the stories and even the characters :D

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  20. I am sure everyone likes a bit of humour. So, undoubtedly, humour can definitely make a good connect with the reader. Only problem is what constitutes humour could vary.

    I like subtle humour. When it's too crass, it puts me off. But I guess, it also depends on the context.

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  21. Humour is one of the hardest things to do right. One of my good friends is a comic writer and I admire her talent so much because she's so natural at it. It's a wonder to watch.

    Jai

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  22. I do like humor, but only if it fits the story. I adored Harry Potter for it, but in other books it might not fit. Still, overall, I do love humor.

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  23. Great post! a friend of mine sent me a book about writing funny and it helped me a lot. It's called A Deer On A Bicycle.

    I admire people who can be naturally funny in their writing. I'm not there yet, but its worth working icon to get right!!

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  24. It totally depends on the story, though I guess I weave in little bit of humor even in my more serious books. One of my books is very funny in a snarky, irreverant way. It was fun to write.

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  25. I agree that humor is awesome, especially in a serious plot. However, I have difficulty getting it into my own work. Any tips or tricks?

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  26. I love humour in stories. I love when a book makes me laugh out loud. It's not easy to write though ;)
    Great tips.

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  27. I love reading books with humor and adding humor to my stories. Life has humor in it, so shouldn't our books reflect life? I try to do it in all the ways you describe. Dialogue is certainly the easiest place.

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