V is for Voice

This month I'm participating in the A-Z Blogging Challenge. The theme I'm going with this year is writing humor. Follow along to learn more about the different ways to make your fiction, articles or blog posts humorous. 

Ahhhhh, voice. We love it in the books we read, right? But sometimes it can be hard to pin down in our own works. 

How do you find your character's voice, their crazy, funny voice that will make your readers chuckle?

It's pretty easy once you get to know them. But how do you do that? How do you get inside their head and really understand them? And then how do you get that down on paper?

Here are some ideas...

#1: Dialogue

Think about how your character talks. Does he have a catch phrase? Does she pause a lot? Fiddle with something when he's nervous? Does she ramble? Or does he think long and hard before giving short and concise responses? Does she use big words to confuse those around her? Does he talk like a tall blonde surfer dude and carry a surfboard with him wherever he goes even though he lives on a cattle ranch in Texas?

#2: Interview

Pretend to be a reporter and interview your character. Maybe you're an annoying reporter that's trying to make your character look bad, like that chickadee in Harry Potter. Or maybe you're a kind reporter, out to seek the completel truth and help your character. 

Either way, think of questions to ask your character that would give you insight into who they truly are.

#3: Make a playlist

This isn't something I've tried, but it does sound interesting. Find songs your character would choose to put on their playlist. Would they want to listen to the Beatles or Metallica? One Direction or the Grateful Dead? Or maybe they're more of a Barry Manilow fan. The kind of music your character would pick could give you great insight into who they are. 

#4: Write a letter

Have your character write a letter to someone....their mom, best friend or maybe even their Kindergarten teacher. What would your character say? 

I guess if you're writing a story where your character is in huge trouble, like she's stuck in a haunted house or something and she can only write her Kindergarten teacher a letter, it would be pretty short...

Dear Mrs. Ginger,

HELP ME!

Sincerely,
Skipper Donavan 

#5: Moments

Have your character journal key moments in their life. An embarressing episode, the time they were the most afraid or felt the most alone, something funny that happened to them when they were a kid, a time when they got in loads of trouble, etc. 

On the flip side, you could journal a boring day for them, too. What's their regular, bland, nothing-exciting-going-on day like? 

#6: Tell a Story

Write a scene where your character tells his best friend a story. What does he share? Something funny? Or sad? 

#7:  Pick an Animal

Skunk? Cheetah? Or wildebeest? 

If your character were an animal, which one would she be? Imagine the traits associated with this animal and rewrite a scene keeping these traits in mind. 

Hmmmm...now I'm wondering...what kind of traits does a wildebeest have? 

#8: Thoughts

Write your character's thoughts as he goes about everday tasks like, brushing his teeth, combing his hair and walking to school or his job.  What does he think kabout? What does he focus on? Or obsess and worry about? 

#9: Sitcoms

Here's a fun idea. Think of or find a situation from a sitcom, some moment of trouble, and replace the characters with yours. How would your characters react? What would they do differently? 

#10: First Words

Ok, so for this exercise you need to think of a grand and amazing experience or destination. It could be a trip to Paris or the Grand Canyon. It could be riding in a space shuttle to the moon. And...depending on your character...it could be visiting a grocery store in the 20th century! 

Whatever it is, take your characters and imagine what their first words would be at the start of this experience. What do they notice? What excites them? Where do they go first? They should each have a different response.

Can you think of any other ways to discover your character's voice?

U is for Understand Humor

This month I'm participating in the A-Z Blogging Challenge. The theme I'm going with this year is writing humor. Follow along to learn more about the different ways to make your fiction, articles or blog posts humorous. 


Is it possible to understand  humor? To understand what makes it work?

"Studying humor is like dissecting a frog-you may know a lot but you end up with a dead frog." --Mark Twain

It can be tricky to pull apart funny stuff and figure out how it ticks, but let's give it a shot. 

What makes things funny? 

Here are six ideas:

#1: Silly Names

Seth? Charles? Bethany? Nah. Go with Pickles, Thunder or Leeloo. A great and humorous name will give us instant insight into the character's personality, too. 

In Disney's movie Tangled Rapunzel learns Flynn Rider's real name is actually Eugene Fitzherbert. Check out those names! Waaaaaay better than if they'd given him  a bland fake name like Micheal Jones and his real name was Brandon Smith. 

What better picture for this post than my Zoe actually getting to meet Eugene?
She was over-the-moon thrilled.
When he saw her he said, "Hey! I recognize that dress. Come here, blondie!"
Such a cute guy.

#2: Ridiculous Settings

Sure you could set that fight scene between the bully and the picked on kid in the classroom or the hallway of a school. But why not push it farther and go for the cafeteria kitchen? Think of the mess! The flying asparagus, the slippery mess of ketchup and the head dunk of doom into the mystery meat! 

Think of funny and strange places to set your funny scenes, ones with opportunities for hilarious happenings. 

#3: Zany Personalities

Don't make your characters like your normal, level-headed best friend or your sweet and kind neighbor who makes you bread. 

No! Anything but that! Make them crazy, vindictive, nutty or obsessed with buying weedwackers and hedge trimmers. Give them silly ideas and over-the-top goals.  Have them plot to take over the world by arming their prairie dog army with sporks.  

#4: (ooooooh!) The Forbidden

I'm reading Emmy and the Incredible Shrinking Rat by Lynne Jonell to my two oldest sons at bedtime. We are enjoying this book quite a bit. And they really look forward to the nights when it's their turn. (I alternate every other night between their room and two of my other kids' room and reading The Voyages of Dr. Dolittle)

So, anyway, we reached this scene where Miss Barmy (the nasty villainess who is creating loads of trouble for Emmy) has ingested a potion-like substance which makes her pass gass when she lies. And we're not talking about polite little toots. Oh, no. These are rip-roaring, massive, noxious bouts of flatulance which have the maids gasping for air and reaching for windows. It's hilarious! 

It's also what is considered a "forbidden" topic for kids. We've tried to teach our little ones that talking about and sharing with everyone the grody sounds their bodies can make is impolite and, well, gross (of course, with kids, this is more like an ongoing lesson than a one-time sort of topic). 

So, stories involving bathroom humor are incredibly funny to them! 

#5: Funny Sounds

Bonk! Ooof! Ouch! Thud! 

Sprinkling a scene with funny sounds is a great way to get more laughs. 

#6: Weird Appearances

Sure your girl character could wear jeans and a t-shirt, have long blonde hair and a ready smile. 

OR you could give her frizzy thick locks that she loses items in. Can't find your car keys? Oh, they're probably in Bertha's hair. Lost the tv remote? Bertha, do you mind checking your hair? Hey, we haven't seen the dog for awhile....but there is a strange sound coming from Bertha's  hair...

And, maybe, Bertha likes to wear bright floral muumuus from thrift stores. 

Have fun with the appearances of your characters! Make them unique. Make them strange. But, of course, make them funny!

So, what do you say? Do you completely understand humor now? Of course, right?! 

T is for Timing

This month I'm participating in the A-Z Blogging Challenge. The theme I'm going with this year is writing humor. Follow along to learn more about the different ways to make your fiction, articles or blog posts humorous. 

It's all about the timing. 

Or, at the least, timing has a lot to do with what makes us laugh. I've read articles which say you can't teach timing, that you either have it or you don't. 

But I don't agree. I think, like most things, if you want to learn it, you can. But it will come naturally to some and for others, it will require a whole lot of work.  

Ok, so first things first, what exactly is timing? 

"At its best, comedic timing is the interplay of inflection, gesture, pacing, attitude and rhythm. It’s like jazz with words." Doug Stevenson, Comedy Writing and Timing

Of course, he's talking about being a stand-up-and-deliver-your-lines comedian, but you can still apply his definition of timing to writing. It's all about how you present the joke. 

So, what are some ways to improve the timing in your fiction? 

Here are three steps:

#1: Set it up

Make sure you reader is aware of what is going on. Take the time (however much is needed) to set up your scene. Set up your story. Give them specific expectations of what should happen. 

#2: Get them to look the other way

Distract your audience with something new and shiny and interesting, something that makes them look away for a moment. 

#3: Surprise

Then slap them with the punchline. Give your readers what they didn't expect, the surprising, yet inevitable outcome. 


Last year I wrote a story for the Platform-building Challenge.  It was a flash fiction contest. And...I hope it's a decent example of a piece with good timing...

***

Mistake

Shadows crept across the wall. Guppy’s heart thundered in his chest. His palms grew slick with sweat. He slipped into his closet and hid behind his lucky orange chess club t-shirt and matching slacks.

“Guppy,” the soft voices whispered. “Guuuupppppppy.”

For a brief moment, Guppy considered joining them. But, no. He had to be strong. Guppy forced himself to stay hidden.

If only he’d chosen a different magic spell to practice.

But it was too late. The damage was done. He clutched his wand, wishing he knew how to reverse the spell.

They moved closer to his hiding spot. The closet door creaked open. In the moonlight, Guppy saw a flash of white. Sharp nails dug into his skin as multiple hands yanked Guppy from his imagined safety.

“We found him!” the voices cheered.

And then the fighting began.

“He’s mine!”

“No, he’s not Brittany! Get back!”

“Get your pom-poms out of my face! I want my Guppy!”

Guppy was thrown around like a basketball in a championship game.

“Please, please, let me go!” Guppy pleaded.

Guppy asked himself, “Why, oh why, did I have to cast a love spell on the whole entire cheerleading squad?”

 And then everything faded.

***

So, did I get the timing right? 

#1: I set up the story. I wanted it to sound like a creepy, scary tale. I wanted readers to imagine a horrible beast or creature out to get poor, unfortunate and nerdy Guppy. So, their expectation is that something is hunting him and something is going to get him (mwhahahahahaha!)

#2: Distraction. I made readers think about the magic wand and spell. They begin to (hopefully) wonder what  Guppy did. What did he summon? 

#3: Punchline. Cheerleaders. Not what you were expecting, right?

Do you feel as if timing comes naturally to you? Or is it something you have to work at?

S is for Similes & 6 Ways to Improve Them

This month I'm participating in the A-Z Blogging Challenge. The theme I'm going with this year is writing humor. Follow along to learn more about the different ways to make your fiction, articles or blog posts humorous. 

Oh! I love similes. They are super fun to write and great for adding more humor to your writing.  So, what is a simile? In short, it's describing two unlike things using the words like or as.

Her crying was as loud as a siren held up to a megaphone and played over a loud speaker.

Here's 6 tips for improving your similes:

#1: Don't use cliches

He was as hungry as a wolf. 

Ok. That's just lame. 

Don't reach for the first simile that comes to mind. Dig deeper!  Be original!

He was as hungry as a wolf on a no-pork diet who stumbled across a bacon festival.

Wow. Bacon band-aids. 

#2: Use all your senses

Think about what things feel, taste, sound, look  and smell like. Now put those to use in your similes. 

Say you want to write a simile about your villain. Maybe about how bad he smells?

He raised his armpits and a smell like a boys' locker room, a dumpster and the moldy vegetables in the back of my Aunt Berna's fridge rolled over me. 

#3: Keep it simple 

Don't try too hard. Your simile should flow easily. If you're trying too hard, it will look like it. 

#4: Make sure it's entertaining

The whole point of a simile is for it to add something to the story, to be enjoyable. If it doesn't make the story better, if it's not entertaining for your readers, then don't use it.

#5: Paint a picture

Use vivid, specific and descriptive words. A great simile will paint a picture in your reader's mind. 

#6: Keep them short

Make your similes concise and punchy. They should flow through your narrative seamlessly, not stick out like a sore thumb like a bitter off-key Steampunk Elvis trying to croon his way onto American Idol. 

***

If you'd like a chuckle, check out these 56 Best/Worst Similes.

Some of my favorites are...

He was as lame as a duck. Not the metaphorical lame duck, either, but a real duck that was actually lame. Maybe from stepping on a land mine or something.

The plan was simple, like my brother-in-law Phil. But unlike Phil, this plan just might work.

She grew on him like she was a colony of E. coli and he was room-temperature Canadian beef.

He was as tall as a 6′3″ tree.

It was an American tradition, like fathers chasing kids around with power tools.

Do you like to use similes in your writing? 

R is for Running Gag

This month I'm participating in the A-Z Blogging Challenge. The theme I'm going with this year is writing humor. Follow along to learn more about the different ways to make your fiction, articles or blog posts humorous. 

My favorite running gags of all time can be found in the Phineas and Ferb show. Come on. Who doesn't love waiting to see how whatever the boys make gets smooshed, carted away, taken by aliens or zapped into the past before their mom sees it? Or what about the devices  ending in -inator which  Dr. Doofenshmirtz (not sure that's spelled right!) invents?  Best running gags ever. 

A running gag is when you set up something funny, but probably just kind of funny the first time,  and then bring it back again and again in the story, but in new and surprising ways, with it getting funnier every time. 

Like in Alcatraz and the Evil Librarians, I would call Alcatraz's cousin's special magical talent, which is falling down, a running gag.  Now this is a great big islander man (I can't remember his name!) and when he falls down it is in a super spectacular way. His falling down is a sign that danger is nearby. So, everyone scatters and hides.  It's awesome. 

And I love how  Brandon Sanderson weaves this into the narrative, along with many many other great running gags, in different ways which never fail to surprise us and make us giggle. 

Another example of a running gag is in the movie Up when the dog is distracted by the "SQUIRREL!" repeatedly. It gets funnier and funnier each time it happens. 

Of course, there is a risk. If you return to the running gag too much you may simply annoy your reader. Make sure you don't go back to it too much. 

What are your favorite running gags from books, movies or tv? 

Q is for Quirks

This month I'm participating in the A-Z Blogging Challenge. The theme I'm going with this year is writing humor. Follow along to learn more about the different ways to make your fiction, articles or blog posts humorous. 

Oh! I love writing characters with fun and unique quirks. 

So, what is a quirk? 

A quirk is anything that makes your character peculiar, or different from others like him or her. And it's a great way to work in more humor to your writing. 

Say you have an elementary school teacher who likes collecting apple paper weights. Ok. That's pretty normal. And bland.

What if instead, she's an elementary school teacher who likes collecting, and displaying in her room, antique tortue devices?  Um, now she's creepy AND quirky. 

Or maybe you have a football jock with chiseled features, large biceps and a love of cheerleaders. Yawn. 

How about instead you make him a football jock with chiseled features, large biceps and a love of granola nature girls? He's instantly more interesting! And this could put him in all sorts of funny situations. 

When you're trying to think of quirks for your character, try brainstorming a list of ones that could work. Think about your character's age, gender, occupation, religion, history, habits, pets, fears, obsessions and talents. 

Another fun thing about quirks is the opportunity for more conflict! Expoit your character's quirk. Make things hard for them or others around them! 

If you have a ten year old little girl who goes to her first day of 5th grade to find her teacher gleefully crushing an apple with a head squishing device, I think this could create a bit of tension for said little girl, right? 

Or if you have a football player who is not attracted to the cheerleaders and wants to hang out with the cute new granola girl handing out PETA flyers, he might get some trouble from the other guys on the team. Or the girl will get it from the cheerleaders. Yay! More conflict. 

And one last thing about quirks. They are a brilliant way to get your character's voice out, to really make it stand out and be noticed. 

If you'd like more info on creating character quirks, check these out...

A podcast from Writing Excuses about Character Quirks with Bree Despain
A list of 50 character quirks (This could be a great place to get some ideas, but then change them up and make them your own)

Do you have any quirky characters in your WIP? Who are some of your favorite quirky characters? Or favorite kind of quirks?

P is for Pacing

This month I'm participating in the A-Z Blogging Challenge. The theme I'm going with this year is writing humor. Follow along to learn more about the different ways to make your fiction, articles or blog posts humorous. 

Pacing. This is a term we, as writers, hear about fairly often. So, what makes for good pacing in humor? How do we do it? 

As I was researching this topic, I came across an article about writing humor by Dave Barry. He had this to say about pacing. And  it pretty much sums up the way to do it.  

"You need to have a real strong sense of pacing. Too many attempts at humor fail because A, either it takes forever to get to what's supposed to be funny and just wanders around before it gets there, doesn't seem to be any purpose. Or once it gets there, it says it over and over and over, it doesn't get out of there, you know, quickly. So, I think it's a lot like stand-up comedy, in a sense, you don't let the reader see it coming, you hit the reader with it, and then you get out of there and go to something else the reader doesn't see coming. And that's probably the most fundamentally important thing." -Dave Barry

Brilliant. Get in, say what you need and then leave. Or, in other words,  set up the joke, add a few more details and then drop the punchline. 

Batta-bing. Batta-boom.

What are your thoughts on pacing? Is this something that comes natural to you? Or do you have to really work hard to pace your humor or, simply, your writing well?

O is for Offended

This month I'm participating in the A-Z Blogging Challenge. The theme I'm going with this year is writing humor. Follow along to learn more about the different ways to make your fiction, articles or blog posts humorous. 

Offended. 

It seems like everyone in our society is so easily offended these days. I wish there was a better balance. People would both choose their words with others' feelings in mind and also take what other people say with a grain, no, a giant heaping tablespoon of salt. 

Some comedians say if you're going to be funny you have to be prepared to offend someone. 

I have a hard time with that.

I, personally, do not like to use humor to poke fun at other people's beliefs, their disabilities or anything else that would make them fell bad or singled out.  

That's not to say you should be constantly worried about what other people are thinking. No, that'll just drive you mad. People will get offended about all sorts of things! 

One great way to avoid offending others is to use yourself as the punchline. Make fun of yourself. Point out your flaws and struggles. Direct the laughes your way.Then everyone has a great time!

So, what do you think? Do you think it's possible to be funny without making other people feel or look bad?