Many of you must have heard me pray passionately to develop comedy writing skills. In the entire ~3 years or so of writing, I was able to write maximum of 3 posts with any hint of humor in them.
Humor is hard.
But I want it.
I think about people who are editors by profession. Or judges of a competition. Reading words upon words of text has got to be exhausting. That is why I feel like adding humor would help a reader get through the piece without it being tedious. I remember how much I loved Trevor's book cause he was able to add humor and discuss the most uncomfortable topics with ease. There is a power to humor and I still have the desire to learn it.
As I continue Malcom's masterclass, he mentions how humor is relatively easy to do compared to emotionally engaging someone. He believes that it is harder and more powerful to connect with people with emotions than humor. I remember thinking that he doesn't really try to be funny in his books. He is a powerful storyteller regardless. But what I found interesting is how he went as far as mentioning that people should not work too hard on humor. The work to connect with the reader is hard enough and that can suffice for a great piece.
I wouldn't say that Malcom has totally changed my mind. I think humor is an asset. But maybe I am taking too much time worrying about being funny. Maybe that is so unnatural to me that it may take away from other aspects of my writing.
I have 12 days to get this 500 words post done. Time to get moving.
Humor is hard.
But I want it.
I think about people who are editors by profession. Or judges of a competition. Reading words upon words of text has got to be exhausting. That is why I feel like adding humor would help a reader get through the piece without it being tedious. I remember how much I loved Trevor's book cause he was able to add humor and discuss the most uncomfortable topics with ease. There is a power to humor and I still have the desire to learn it.
As I continue Malcom's masterclass, he mentions how humor is relatively easy to do compared to emotionally engaging someone. He believes that it is harder and more powerful to connect with people with emotions than humor. I remember thinking that he doesn't really try to be funny in his books. He is a powerful storyteller regardless. But what I found interesting is how he went as far as mentioning that people should not work too hard on humor. The work to connect with the reader is hard enough and that can suffice for a great piece.
I wouldn't say that Malcom has totally changed my mind. I think humor is an asset. But maybe I am taking too much time worrying about being funny. Maybe that is so unnatural to me that it may take away from other aspects of my writing.
I have 12 days to get this 500 words post done. Time to get moving.
These two examples from Hemingway come to mind. I think he was very good at it, especially because he comes off as a very somber and 'serious' writer, but sometimes you're wondering if he's not just playing around the whole time.
From "To Have and Have Not"
As Harry came up to the bar the woman looked away from to register disgust.
“What will you have?” asked Freddy.
“What’s the lady drinking,” Harry asked.
“A Cuba Libre.”
“Then give me a straight whiskey.”
From "Across the River and Into the Trees"
"Do you have any fresh asparagus?"
"You know we cannot have it in these months. It comes in April and from Bassano."
"Then I'll just urinate the usual odor," the Colonel said.
It might not come naturally, but I guess the good thing about humor is that you could always pull it off unintentionally, and there's nothing wrong with that.
often times it's when she was angry with something and people cracked up about it.
I do think that comedy is a way to convey emotions (often times anger) though. if you notice 99percent of standup comedy it's people making observations that amaze them or anger them... amaze them usually in a way where they wonder 'how is that possible!!??' or 'CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?'
I'm the opposite. I find myself funny but have no aims to try to be funny.
Stand up comedy is a lot of observation of things that are weird, irritating and unjust. I love George Carlin's comedy for that reason.
I have just come to realize that it is easier for me to convey emotional content better than humor. That I will learn with time. With less time for the competition, I need to focus on my strength than goals.
Thank you both for the feedback.