That's Not Funny

I love to laugh, but I’m not exactly skilled in the art of making other people laugh. Just ask my four-year-old. I’ll tell a story that I find hilarious, and he’ll look at me with his big, blue eyes ten years more mature, and say, “That’s not funny, Mom.” Usually he’s right. I’m lucky to have him to keep me humble.

Not long after I started writing, I decided to jump on the bandwagon and try to write something in a genre that was actually selling. At that time, Chick Lit happened to be popular, and I thought it would be a great fit for me. I wrote what I thought was a very funny novel about the wittiest character ever created. My book ended up being a finalist in the Genesis contest (I think there were a total of ten entries), but one of the agent judges came back with a verdict that sounded much like what my four-year-old continually tells me: NOT FUNNY. She was right. The comedy in the book was forced, the voice was somewhat clichéd and the character was not all that likeable. (Some may say I have a sarcastic sense of humor.)

Since then, I have faced the fact that I am not a humorist, but I have also realized that a book does not have to be a comedy in order to be funny. In fact, my favorite books are the ones that make me laugh and cry. The ones that reach deep into the soul and thread in a universal theme, but that also include irony and moments of comedy. Take The Help, for instance. So much of that book made me sad. I couldn’t believe how those women were treated. Because of the injustice against them, parts of it were hard for me to read. But the author used humor as a device to break up the tension and make the difficult parts of the story more palatable. It worked brilliantly, and yet it was so simple. She brought in a couple of quirky characters and an outrageous action taken by one of the characters (having something to do with pie), and I found myself laughing out loud. Can you imagine what that novel would be like without Minny Jackson? Instead of reading it in a few days like I did, it might have taken me weeks. Rather than being too heavy or trying too hard to send a message, it was one of the most perfectly balanced books I have ever read.

I’m not funny, but even I can come up with a few good lines here and there. I can invent quirky characters who get themselves into deep … trouble. Every novel should have some element of humor. Even the saddest, most dramatic storyline needs comic relief.


A lifelong storyteller, Sara Richardson is passionate about communicating reasons for hope. Previously she has been an advertising copywriter, an Internet communications manager, and a whitewater rafting guide. In addition to writing fiction, Sara has published nonfiction articles in parenting and family magazines. As a member of MOPS International, Sara enjoys speaking to moms’ groups. She earned a master’s degree in journalism from Regent University. Visit her at www.hopetolife.com

Funny or Not Funny?

I recently had what I thought was a funny experience with an editor, and I shared it at a critique group meeting. The first two people I told thought it was funny. The next person just looked at me and shook her head. She didn’t think it was funny at all, even though I was laughing at the situation. She thought it was unprofessional.

Who was right? We both were. I was laughing at a situation in my life that if I didn’t laugh, I would probably cry. My friend didn’t laugh because she put herself in my position and reacted the way she would have if it had happened to her.

Humor is a funny thing -- no pun intended -- and yet that rolled off my fingers as glib as if I'd meant it.

Each person, (insert each reader), has their own sense of humor, meaning that what you find hilarious, another person will tilt their head in a good imitation of the RCA Victor dog.

We've seen a lot of good tips for writing humor this month, and they are all valid. One consideration when writing humor is to consider your reader so that you pen words of hilarity that they will understand.

Do you write for kids? Then many of your humorous lines will include mention of body odors, weird mouth noises, and references to current movies.

Do you write for the older population? Then you can make reference, as I did, to the RCA Victor dog, and they'll get the point.

No matter who you write for, you will want to put yourself in their shoes, if you aren't in that demographic, and use references they will understand.

I once had a friend who claimed she had no sense of humor. People would tell her jokes and she never got them. If she tried to repeat a joke she’d heard, she’d mess it up in the telling. She never laughed because she thought something was funny. And yet she made people laugh. We laughed at her complete lack of humor.

Humor can lighten a harsh word. It can teach the reader a lesson they wouldn’t want to hear otherwise. Humor can ease the tension in a scene, and it can draw the reader into the story by allowing them to lose themselves in the fictional world you create.

And, isn’t that really the purpose of our stories?