Online Class: Humor Writing 101

Laughing- the salve of the soul.  When we feel at our lowest sometimes the only thing that can turn our mood around and lift us up is a good hearty laugh.  The comedy capers of some people can at times save our sanity.  We envy those who can readily laugh and even more so those people that can make others laugh.

This course will help you join this group, by covering things such as the advantages of keeping your humor in flow, how to guarantee laughs, the power of shock value, the importance of preparation and humor as a group effort -- and that's all just for starters!

Writing- when we think back to the things that have moved us deeply, that have stirred us emotionally, many of those have been pieces of writing.  It takes skill to create a piece of writing, one word after another, one sentence after another and put it together in such a way that people really want to read it. 

During this course you'll not only be given advice on how to write, but what not to write, how to market your material in a way that gives you the best possible chance of establishing a continuing comedy writing career and some tips you can utilize to assist you in writing good humor.

This course is not like many others, in that it is not exercise after exercise and so-called hot tips guaranteeing to give you instant writing success, there is no such thing.  What it will do for you is give you the best possible advice on how to build a solid foundation for your humor writing future, i.e. a career in writing that lasts! 

Course Motivation

When you have finished writing your skit or story put it aside, i.e. put it out of your mind, and don't keep revisiting it as you proceed through this course. Promise me now?

It is at the end of the course that we will be asking you to rewrite the same story and compare it to your first script --BUT NOT UNTIL THEN.

Don't think about it!

Don't consciously think about what you put down on the paper -- word by word or line by line -- just allow the words to pour out as they will onto the paper (or not as the case may be). 

Don't sanitize your thoughts or words. Don't worry about whether they are relevant or not, and most certainly, don't assess whether they are funny enough or funny at all, for that matter – not at this stage anyway.

JUST PUT THEM DOWN, NOW!

Rewrite 

After having put your script aside for a few hours or a day, reread what you wrote, put it aside and write the same story again.

Rewrite 

And again

And Rewrite again!

Just one last time, after having a break of a day or two – rewrite the story again. There is a point to this which we shall go into later. Please, just rewrite (it's for the second last time!)

Basic Humor Exercises

Now I know you may be feeling a bit sick of writing by this stage, but sometimes, as a writer that's exactly how you might feel, and you have to write anyway.

Let me tell you that there are very few writers in the world who enjoy every single minute of their craft, there are even fewer who only sit down to write when they feel that wonderful instinctive urge and feeling of enlightenment. It's not like that.

Most of the time writing is just hard work!

Laugh at yourself first -- whether we feel embarrassed or not about the situations that have happened to us, we should make ourselves the first target of our humor. Not only is it safer that way but people really warm to those that they see can have a laugh at themselves. When people warm to you, the battle is half won! 

Think, what's funny about you or something you do or have done in the past? Do you do impressions for example? Can you do funny drawings or possibly even do something as simple as lifting your eyebrow or wiggling your ears. If you can't think of something, ask your friends and family – that's if you can take it!

All jokes aside, its amazing what gets a laugh and you only need something small to start with, not an epic masterpiece. 

So the exercise now is to write a short story about this funny side of yourself. If it helps, write the story as if it is actually happening to someone else. Possibly read it out loud to a friend or partner and ask their opinion (but only if you feel they will be constructive and not overly picky and/or critical).

Laugh at someone or something else (possibly a pet) -- Funny pets or friends are real assets to a comedy writer. Friends of mine have always been fortunate in this regard, as every single pet (usually dogs) has a hilarious, human-like personality. One dog when put to bed in their garage could actually open the tilt-a-door from the inside, trot to the front door and, giving a low warning sound, would alert the kids to let him in so he could then sleep on one of their beds for the night. Another friend had a budgie that became overly fond of beer and mixed his words up hysterically when intoxicated.

The trick if you have a funny friend is not to appear as if you are putting them down or making fun of them but rather to actually be having fun with them. Show appreciation for their funny side and praise them by saying that you going to use their story in one of your skits.

Now the exercise is to put together a very short humorous talk about one of your pets or friends (no more than one or two paragraphs).

Concentrate for a week on only watching comedy programs on TV, YouTube, Amazon or on DVD -- possibly invest money in boosting your comedy library and don't limit yourself to comedy from your own background or country. Try old Abbott & Costello films, the Fawlty Towers series, The Castle (great Australian film), Patch Adams, a Fish called Wanda and so on.

The exercise here is for you to really carefully consider what has actually amused you and pick from each film or series episode, one topic that you could use in your own writings (not exactly, of course, but to model your joke after).