by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig
Recently I was asked for tips on writing humor. My books are billed as humorous cozies and the person emailing me asked if I could share some techniques. 
I think that’s a tough subject to tackle, actually. In person, I have a more dry sense of humor—I’m definitely not that much of a funny person unless I’m telling a story. When I’m writing, I’m usually working with a particular type of humor…character based. Let me use Saturday as an example (and we all have days like this.)
I’ve mentioned before that my ten year old daughter is absolutely obsessed with horses. I don’t share the obsession, but I’m happy to facilitate her horse fixes (to a point! My husband and I keep insisting we won’t become horse owners.)
She was set on going to the Carolina Cup steeplechase race on Saturday, so I bought a couple of tickets and packed a lunch and we were off.
I knew, though, that the entire situation was fraught with danger. She was so determined to watch the horses. This meant that the universe would conspire for her not to see the horses.
And, sure enough, problems arose right away. The website directions from Charlotte to Camden, SC weren’t clear and took us off in the wrong direction. I finally turned on my GPS and got us heading in the right direction. And we ended up getting there fairly late and ended up having to park with the college kids who’d come with their kegs.
Because we’d parked so far away, it was about 3/4 of a mile to reach the main course. We had to cross the infield and stamp through the tall grass. As we got closer to the course, the spectators grew older and banquets were laid out with fine silver. This was all ignored by my daughter, intent on the horses.
We got as close as we possibly could. I squinted at the grandstand and asked a staff member, “Can we sit there? I see seats. My daughter wants to see the horses.”
“If you have $650 a person.”
I decided we would just get as close as we could aside from being in the grandstand.
Of course, I’d forgotten to bring the folding chairs from the trunk. I told her to stay put and not to talk to strangers and I trotted back the 3/4 mile to the car. As I was returning, still running, with the chairs, they closed off the gates to the infield I needed to cross…because the horses were running through. This, naturally, added another 20 minutes to my trip back…and when I returned she told me in exasperation that a crowd of people had come up to ask her if she’d “lost her mommy.” They wouldn’t stop worrying over her and coddling her and she’d had a difficult time craning her head to see the course.
Between the bacchanalian shenanigans of the college students who occasionally staggered up to see the horses and blocked our view, friendly and well-meaning spectators who tried striking up conversation with my doll-like-diminutive and grimly focused daughter, I was hiding a smile most of the day. If I’d been writing a book, these would have been the basic components for a humorous scene: the serious little girl, ferociously intent on the horses and the world working against her.
Character based humor is my favorite kind of humor. It’s easy to write and doesn’t only create humor—it also makes for conflict (a gentler sort) and character development, too.
Even easier is a comic foil for the protagonist—someone who will put the character in these humorous situations on a regular basis: what we saw in The Odd Couple with Felix and Oscar.
What made Lucy and Ethel’s struggle in the candy factory so funny? One reason was that they were so earnest about doing well but completely unsuited for the job they were facing. Because they were so serious about making a paycheck, the day’s unraveling and their horror at it, made the situation funnier and funnier.
This is as close as I can come to explaining my approach to humor, but I’m interested in hearing yours. Do you write humorous scenes into your books? Have any tips?
Character humour is great fun to write. The scenarios can encompass the set up, the stooge, the fall guy and the pay off and all because she doesn’t like lemons or whatever.Character driven situation comedy is my gig.
Elizabeth – First, what a great mom you are to go through all of that effort so your daughter could see the horses! Wow!
As to humour? I don’t write a lot of humour. In part that’s because it is, as you say, really difficult to do well. In part it’s because my novels aren’t the kind that have a lot of character humour in them. But I do include some of what you might call humourous scenes. For instance, in the book I’m writing now one of the characters has to deal with a family who sill not let their child (a college student) grow up and take responsibility for his own classes. It isn’t laugh-out-out-loud sort of humour; it’s more “sympathetic laugh” sort of humour.
You did a great job explaining humor. I love humor and try to inject it in many of my stories. I read once about an exercise to find out how humor works. The next time you or someone else laughs analyze it, write it down. This is suppose to help the writing process for humor.
T
I never set out to write humor, but sometimes it just happens and I nost of the time I don’t even notice it happens until someone is tells me “that was pretty funny” or I’ll read the story after writing it and end up chuckling. I think humor just knows where to insert itself into your stories.
Great explanation. A huge part is finding the character least suitable for the job b/c that not only creates humor but conflict too. And then there’s the hilarious epiphany where the something happens that is humorous for the reader but not for the character and through it they experience a turning point. I love finding humor in books!
I find humour so difficult to analyse. I write humourous blog posts, and sometimes people tell me they’re looking forward to my next one – and I completely panic because I don’t actually know what it is I do that’s funny, I just kind of do it! My brother had a look at a post for me once and reassured me that I shouldn’t worry about making jokes – the way I write my recaps is just funny in itself, to others. I hope that’s still the case!
That’s a wonderful explanation of how you approach humour, Elizabeth. I have no idea how I ‘write funny’, I just seem to. I’ve always put it down to the same ability I had to illicit laughs onstage – it was just there. Of course, I do hear a voice in my head every now and then saying “We haven’t had a joke in a while…” That helps.
Humor is such a delicate balance. What works for one person might not work for another. I have never been able to appreciate embarrassment humor – the kind where the protagonist falls from one awkward situation to another, making more and more of a fool of him or herself. That just makes me squirm in discomfort! (Unless it’s the Pink Panther movies – the originals – or Fawlty Towers. For some reason I find those particular ones hysterical.) A situation like your daughter’s, though, where it has the potential to be embarrassing but is saved by the focus of the protagonist, I do find greatly humorous. It all depends on the tiniest of differences!
Your poor daughter!
Humor is difficult. I have some light scenes in my books but few really funny ones.
And you’re wrong – I’ve met you in person and you are funny!
Laura–You’ve explained it really well in your comment! I think you’re right about the casting for the scene–it’s got to be just the right character to put in the scene. If it’s not cast right, then it’s not going to be pulled off nearly as well. I think this kind of humor is definitely a wink at the reader–knowing we’re giving them something funny that our character might not see the humor in until later on.
Hettie–It *is* fun, isn’t it? I think the most fun I’ve ever had when writing is a scene I did with a disastrous dinner party.
Juliette–Maybe you should take the Journaling Woman’s advice above and actually analyze what you’re doing well. Might make it easier to duplicate in stories, as well as blog posts!
Margot–I bet that’s the kind of situation humor that you see a lot as a college teacher! And you’re right–it’s difficult to write. There’s only a couple of different forms that I’ve felt comfortable pulling off so far. Maybe if I get better at it I’ll try more.
Journaling Woman–Nice tip! I’ll have to do that. I’m frequently in stitches when reading or watching a movie, but I usually never remember what exactly I found so funny later. Keeping notes is a great exercise.
Louise–Oh, good point. I’m exactly like you–I can’t stand it when there’s someone who’s getting set-up for total humiliation….but it’s funny to see someone getting thwarted, somehow. It’s a tiny difference but makes a *big* difference for my enjoyment as a reader or viewer or filmgoer.
Diane–Ha! Thanks. :) Maybe I was in a funnier mood that day!
OMG, Elizabeth, you can tell a story. Most of the time I don’t get jokes when they’re told or in comic strips, so I don’t even think about putting humor in what I write.
Karen
I think you have it–tha character tics that might or might not be amusing, but placed up against a situation that brings them into funny conflict. I also use a fair amount of incompatible personality stuff (like the odd couple), but then I also have a character who is just fairly zany (in fact she might have a lot in common with my online persona)
Bet those are the same people that always surround me in a movie theater.
The best way for me to insert humor is through dialogue.
Great explanation! I’m a huge Lucy & Ethel fan. THat scene in the choc factory is priceless. And when they’re stomping the grapes. And the veggiemeatavitamin (is that right???) :)
I think character humour is important, especially in crime fiction and even cozy. Why? It’s a needed relief from death. I like it when authors throw in a character that makes a situation funny, it lightens up the whole book.
I use humor, but I don’t really know how to explain what I do. Like you, I tend to pull out the humorous in everyday situations. And I try to have at least one character do the same thing. Yet it’s different in each story. See? Lousy explanation.
Hart–Zany is always fun. :)
Bridges–Sounds like you’ve got a good handle on the natural rhythm of your story and when humor needs to naturally be woven in. :)
Elspeth–I think you’ve just got a natural gift for it. It comes through in your blog, too!
Alex–Those people find me at the movies, too!
Clarissa–I think almost every book can use at least a little humor…otherwise, there’s just no break from the grimness!
Karen–Sometimes those go over my head, too! I think situation comedy and character based can be easier to “get.” :)
Jemi–Those are my favorites, too! Great characterization in that sitcom. :)
I know writers who are funny without trying and others who try really hard and fall flat on their manuscripts. Even after taking classes in writing humor, I still don’t know how to do it. I guess I’ll stick to murder. :D
Oh my goodness, what a day at the track! For some reason, I’m not a very funny writer. But then again, I rarely read funny books. In real life, I love laughing and have a weird sense of humor, but when it comes to literature, I like ’em serious. Go figure!
Hi,
loved your daughter and horses story– but hope your daughter had a better time the next time….
as for humor: My new mystery, Mother, Murder and Me, is, dare I say, fraught with humor . . . . The main character sort of falls into an amateur detective role, which almost gets her killed several times and thrown in jail– and her recently deceased mother — the bane of her existence in life
comes back to help her daughter out of trouble (whether her daughter wants her help or not . . . . )
Sandy Gardner
sgardner2@hvc.rr.com
Wow quite the day with your daughter! Some days, the world DOES conspire against us!
My type of humor tends to be dry as well… most of my humor will come through the character’s internal observations. I think I like this best, because when it’s in the form of thoughts, the humor is raw and unfiltered. :)
Great post!
Angela
Humor is in the story well after it happened. You know the ones that we say, “We’ll laugh about this in 20 years!” And, we do best to laugh at ourselves. Also, a great commedian said to observe life. What are some things that most of us do that look a little funny.
Play off the Page
Carol–It’s tough to explain, isn’t it? I had a tough time trying to explain it, too!
Julie–I like reading serious books, too! I’ll go back and forth with the book I choose…almost depending on my mood.
Patricia–I think it’s got to be one of the hardest things to write.
Sandy–Sounds like an interesting book! I always love a good ghost story.
Mary–Good idea! There’s a lot of material in everyday life, for sure. :)
I think writing laugh out loud funny is really hard.
Your daughter sounds a lot like mine. :) focused…
I also write character-based humor. In my novels the sleuth is rather straight-laced but her colleague is earthy and streetwise. Their relationship helps create humorous situations.