Hello again reader. Today’s blog post is about humour.
I’m usually pretty un-funny if I’m trying. I love books with humour and authors like Janet Evanovich, Marion Keyes and Dawn French are hilarious. I also adore PG Wodehouse, if you’ve never heard of Bertie Wooster, then you just don’t know what you’ve been missing. I on the other hand am not, hilarious, that is.
Sure, I can manage to evoke a bit of a giggle at times, but it seems the harder I try the more lame it sounds. In real life I can keep the good folk in the kitchen giggling, take my juggling prowess for example. I cannot juggle three oranges, but I can juggle two oranges while holding the third in my hand at the same time. This, I can tell you, has provoked the odd chuckle. But it hardly qualifies as a comedy does it?
Reader, I’m sure there are online workshops and writing classes that will promise to teach me to writing amusing prose. But really? I mean, if I have to do a six week course to try to be funny I somehow think I should not bother. What is humour after all?
My funny may be poles apart from yours. I might like slapstick, you may be more cerebral. You probably are. I love clever funny, my darling husband loves stupid funny! What can I say? He is watching a ridiculous comedy while I write this! “Rock of Ages” It’s funny, in a really dumb way. (No offence to anyone who thought Tom Cruise was hot in it 😛 )
So, I hear you asking, are my books funny?
My answer is that I hope so. At least enough to bring forth a slightly amused smile when reading. Sometimes when I read back through my writing I come across a paragraph that makes me chuckle. But perhaps that’s the answer for me. I can do slightly amusing.
How about you? Do you like funny stories? Stories with elements of humour? Or doesn’t it make a scrap of difference to you?
Yes, I like surprising funny in my reading. I don’t intentionally try to be funny but sometimes it just happens. My characters do odd-ball things or surprise me. Then I read back and it’s even funnier the second time. But trust me, it wasn’t me trying to be funny. I think I laugh AT my characters, not with them, I’m cruel that way. Of course, as you say, it might not come across all that funny to others. I hope it does, but it might not.
LOL, you are a cruel woman, Deb. I don’t set out to write funny, but some of the things my characters do,is. I’d love to be able to write comedy, but I don’t think it would work for me. Instead I will enjoy reading comedy.
What I like is reading something unexpected that makes me laugh out loud because it just is so silly in a completely human way. But to make up for my cruelty of laughing at my characters, I also cry with them. Yes, I know I named them, but they took me on the ride of my life. I am totally NOT responsible for their behavior.
Mine too take me on a rollercoaster ride that I just love. Tears and laughter all the way 🙂