Writing Funny

Writing Funny

Today I will teach you how to write funny. I will be referring to my earlier post about the world’s tallest man. Read that one first, two posts below, if you haven’t already.

Picking a Topic
-------------------

The topic does half of your work. I look for topics that have at least one of the essential elements of humor:

Clever
Cute
Bizarre
Cruel
Naughty
Recognizable

In order for something to be funny, it has to have at least two of the six elements of humor. A story about a 7-foot 9-inch Mongolian herdsman marrying a smallish woman is bizarre all by itself. In the humor context, bizarre simply means two things you wouldn’t normally find together.

Notice how many of the humor elements I worked into my post about the tall herdsman:

Clever: Retrieving an iPod in a clever way, and the salmon in a canoe analogy

Cruel: Shish Kabob accident with his wife

Bizarre: Conjoined twins with two heads and one vagina, huge man with smallish wife, and a Mongolian herdsman with an iPod.

Naughty: The entire post

The story of the world’s tallest man wasn’t “recognizable” in any meaningful way, so it lacked that element. For many people, that element is the only important one, and the other dimensions are just flavor. If you leave out the “recognizable” element, many people won’t relate to the situation. I took that chance because the other elements were so strong.

I also left out the “cute” element, but that one is never essential. It mixes best with the “cruel” and “bizarre” elements, e.g. a bunny with a bazooka.

Simple Sentences
---------------------

Keep your writing simple, as if you were sending a witty e-mail to a friend. Be smart, but not academic. Prune words that don’t make a difference.

Write About People
------------------------

It’s impossible to find humor in inanimate things. If you must write about an object or a concept, focus on how someone (usually you) thinks or feels or experiences those things. Humor is about people, period.

Write Visually
-----------------

Paint a funny picture with your words, but leave out any details that don’t serve the humor. Notice how many images I packed into my post about the tall guy. It’s hugely visual, and yet I never describe what he looks like, other than being tall.

Leave Room for Imagination
-----------------------------------

When I described how the tall guy could retrieve an iPod from a storm drain, I only mentioned the gum, his “python,” and a Victoria Secrets catalog. Every reader formed a slightly different mental picture of the specifics. Leaving out details allows readers to fill them in with whatever image strikes them as funniest. In effect, you let readers direct their own funny movie.

Funny Words
-----------------

Use “funny” words when you can. Here are some I used:

Mongolian
Herdsman
Vagina
Trouser
Shish Kabob
Storm drain
Johnson
Slap
Canoe

You can read that list of funny words totally out of context and it almost makes you laugh. Funny words are the ones that are familiar yet rarely used in conversation. It’s a bonus when those words have funny sounds to them, as do most of the ones in my list.

Pop Culture References
-----------------------------

References to popular culture often add humor. It’s funny that the world’s tallest man is retrieving a lost iPod, and not something generic such as a wallet. And it’s funny that his manhood is compared to Ryan Seacrest as opposed to something generic, such as an oak tree. Someone could write a thesis on why pop culture references are funny, but just accept it.

Animal analogies
---------------------

Animal references are funny. If you can’t think of anything funny, make some sort of animal/creature analogy. It’s easy, and it almost always works. I made these creature analogies in my post…

King salmon
Python

Exaggerate, then Exaggerate Some More
-------------------------------------------------

Figure out what’s the worst that could happen with your topic, then multiple it by ten or more. Don’t say a mole is as big as a grapefruit. Say that mole is opening its own Starbucks. (Notice the pop culture reference of Starbucks.) The bigger the exaggeration, the funnier it is.

Near Logic
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Humor is about creating logic that a-a-a-lmost makes sense but doesn’t. No one in the real world could put gum on his penis and retrieve an iPod from a storm drain. But your brain allows you to imagine that working, while simultaneously knowing it can’t. That incongruity launches the laugh reflex.

Callback
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A callback is when you end with a funny reference that already got a laugh. In my post, I knew the Ganbaatar gag would get a laugh, so I used it again in a different sense for the closing line. It puts a nice period on your humor writing.

Genetic Abnormality
-------------------------

Humor is like any other human capacity; some people are born with more of it than others. No amount of advice will help if you don’t have the humor gene.

Here’s a link to a newish comic called F Minus, by Tony Carrillo. He has the humor gene. I’m picking him to be the next big comic. (Read a few weeks of his archive before forming an opinion.)

http://www.comics.com/comics/fminus/index.html

Comments

[Neetz]

good one

[dl]

pretty wierd and slight funny

[Funny Guy]

Nice article, I really appreciate your sharing!

[Dan Walter]

Hey Scott: Great comic! One of the best. I think comics are the BEST part of any newspaper today. I wish editors would give 'em more space as they deserve. I would actually BUY the paper more if there were more comics in it. No other part of the paper is more creative, or colorful or in many cases, more thought provoking! Keep up the great work.

[jay]

listen yeah i didnt get any of this and how is Johnson a funny word its my second name

[Mike Hawkins]

I must confess, I actually didn't "get" the Dilbert comic for quite some time...

This blog post was a very interesting read though. It sort of makes me think of the great actor Rowan Atkinson - he is very serious and methodical about his work. Something you wouldn't perhaps believe when you watc the latest Mr. Bean movie.

[jimmy]

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[manic]

Conjoined twins with two heads and one vagina, huge man with smallish wife, and a Mongolian herdsman with an iPod and the salmon in a canoe.

:)

[LeoCain]

Just wanted to say thank you for telling me about F Minus. It's made its way into my list of only 4 comics I check daily now to start my work day off with a laugh.

[TasTigger]

I first saw the story about the tallest man a couple of months ago and thought it was hilarious - specifically the part where he saved dolphins by retrieving plastic from their stomach with his long arms. Now I know why.

The story definitely scores a 10 on the scale of bizarre images (with bonus points for the animal reference). But, it also vaguely brought to mind some kind of superhero (was there a Rubberman with the superhuman attribute of having unnaturally long flexible limbs?).

On that subject, I think you may have made an omission leaving superheros out of your list of funny references. You just need to watch a few old Seinfeld episodes to see how funny they can be!

[Marcus Jones]

I like F Minus, but I don't know about next big comic. I think a common theme or character is needed for that. I like the one frame format. I wish you would do one or two frame comics once in a while. Some of my all time favorite Dilbert strips are funniest without the last frame.

[Asd]

Perry Bible Fellowship +1

Though the last few haven't been great.

[steveM]

http://www.comics.com/comics/fminus/archive/fminus-20070630.html

I swear that first zombie looks like you, Scott.

[K8 the Gr8]

This is some great advice!!
Thank you, Guru Scott.

:)

[charlie]

To each his own, Scott. I read an entire month of F-Minus. The only thing funny about this strip is that the guy gets paid for doing it.

[jeremy]

Aptly named comic. Had to use jumper cables to restart my sense of Humor after reading a month of F-minus.

The guy has the comedic depth of a tax accountant.

[Rick]

I like Argle Sweater and Half Baked over F-Minus when it comes to single panel humor.

http://www.theargylesweater.com/
http://www.humorousmaximus.com/halfbaked/halfbaked.php

[DAB]

Do you remember VHS tape rewinding machines? Given the number of induhviduals in this world, I told some friends that I had a new invention idea that would make tons of money - a DVD rewinder. A can't miss idea, right?

cute
clever
recognizable
??

[Rob]

F-Minus is just mediocre. Pick something better Scott.

[Matt]

Scott, F-Minus is good, but I think "The Argyle Sweater" is more my level:

http://www.gocomics.com/theargylesweater/

Give it a chance etc. Chickens are just funny. If there is a chicken involved, I'm already laughing.

Also - what has happened to the Dilbert portfolio? Not being cheeky, I just noticed that one of the shares is up from where I "tipped" it.

Cheers!

[Joel Odom]

You're a champion of humor, Scott. I really enjoy your writing.

For many of us, myself included, the naughty portion, when overdone, can turn us off if it gets too crass. Dilbert and your blog are about equally clever, yet I usually like the comic better because it's not as crass as the blog.

Just an honest thought for you to consider. You're a genius. Keep up the great work.

[Brian Rittenhouse]

I promise this is TRUE!!!

Bizarre...A mongolian herdsman with an iPod

I read this and died because the day before I was working in the Apple Store and a mongolian herdsman (and family) came IN THE STORE complaining that his iPod was not working!

this leads to many other questions;
did he bring any pak animals into the store with him? any yaks for example?
no yaks

Was the ipod not working because it was broken or because he had no electrical outlet?
or computer? I believe they had a hand cranking generator...

How & Why did he end up in Chicago to get tech support?

I believe he also mentioned he reached the end of the internet...he had surfed the whole thing...but I could be wrong, he had a heavy accent.

What are the chances?????

BIZARO!

[Erika]

If you didn't find this month's F Minus funny, here's some older ones from a few years ago:
http://fminus.net/oldfminus1.htm

[Tim]

I've been a fan of F-Minus for a while. Actually, it first reminded me of my all-time favorite strip (even over Dilbert, Scott; sorry), "The Parking Lot is Full". Probably the most bizarre comic strip ever written. The authors, Jack McLaren and Pat Spacek, killed it off a few years ago, but when it was alive, I loved it.

[Hugh]

I remember there was once a Dilbert cartoon where Dilbert himself came up with the basic elements of humour. If you made a joke involving prunes, weasels, chainsaws and a reference to Gilligan's Island, it was guaranteed to get a laugh.