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ON WRITING HUMOR
(scroll down for the transcript of the humor chat hosted by ICL
and for questions asked after the chat)

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This is my handout on humor: Humor defined: That which surprises the reader and causes a smile, snicker, guffaw, falling off the bed laughing Ruth's Rules for writing humor: I will give these in order but I am only using the funny numbers. So not all numbers will be represented here. 2. Relax. Don't try to force it. Revise, come back to it later, add more. Your best work won't be the first line you write. 3 1/2. Use funny-sounding words. Fix is better than repair, but even better is tweak. whirligig, Ebeneezer, doorknob, hose, helicopter, brouhaha, munchkin, snapping turtle, sneaky, pistachio -- you can think of a few hundred more. Funny sounding words make your writing sound funnier. 4. Keep it lean: edit out all the unnecessary words. 6. Set up an expectation of humor. 7. End with a punch. Put the payoff, or punchline, at the end of the sentence or paragraph, for maximum reward. 8. Reuse and recyle the funny ideas: recall them later, so there's a running joke in the piece. 9. Read funny stuff. 11. It's ok to laugh at your own jokes. 12. know your audience: be appropriate if you're writing for kids (booger and body emissions jokes work better for some ages, satire works better for other ages) 13. Practice makes perfect. The more you write funny, the funnier you'll write. 14. Dig into pop culture -- funny tv ads, music, history. 17. Watch standup comedians in action and study their delivery. 18. Not everyone will "get" your humor. Ignore their insults. Humor is a precious gift from the gods, and if you have it, you're indeed blessed. 23. Find humor in the shared collective of humanity. If people recognize themselves in your writing they're more likely to enjoy it. 24. Be specific. An oak tree is funnier than a tree. 26. Don't be afraid to steal if you find something funny that works. 27. Play with words. Play with meanings, sounds, spelling and juxtaposition. 28. Exaggerate. 29. Humor is personal. Not everyone laughs at the same things. Find what's funny for you, and someone out there will think it's funny too. 41. Conversely, almost every situation in life has potential for humor. Sometimes it takes a while to see the humor, but it's there. In tragedy, gallows humor or wry wit keeps people from losing their mind to grief. One of the sweetest things in life to me is that giggle that comes when a person is already crying, but then is reminded of something funny. Maybe we have to have tragedy in order to appreciate comedy. Some of the funniest things in my life include: A Prairie Home Companion Joke Show -- done once or twice a year, an entire show devoted to jokes. The films done by Christopher Guest and his friends: A Mighty Wind, Best in Show, etc. There's Something About Mary -- a crude movie, but there's one scene with the little dog going out the window (and I have a little dog whom I adore) that, when I first saw it, made me laugh louder and longer than any movie I can remember. The Question Game Dave Barry's writing Calvin & Hobbes comic strip Fourth grade camp, two weeks ago. standup comedians on stage and on talk shows old films: The Court Jester, Some Like it Hot, The Marx Brothers, The Apartment, Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton more recent films: Mel Brooks, Monty Python, The Princess Bride Knock knock jokes my relatives pranks and practical jokes Shel Silverstein Dr. Suess PeeWee's Playhouse The Office & My Name is Earl The Geico cavemen, and Mac vs. PC tv ads My most embarrassing moments written by and copyright by Ruth McNally Barshaw June 2007

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And this is the ICL Chat I did, on humor:

transcript here:

http://www.institutechildrenslit.com/rx/tr01/barshaw.shtml

also on my website, here:
humor chat transcript in plain text format

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These questions came after the chat...

#8. MORE HUMOR ANSWERS FROM RUTH MCNALLY BARSHAW... On The June 15th chat, Ruth didn't quite manage to answer every question, but since she's such a sweetie, she caught up the leftover questions through email. So here's Ruth... Nancy: I have a question about humour for Ruth McNally Barshaw. I would like to know if she has any suggestions for publishing houses who appreciate humorous poetry submissions; I've just written a funny-silly story-poem that would allow for lots of illustrations. Ruth: I'm sorry, Nancy, I know nothing about poetry. I would suggest finding other books that are similar to what you have in mind, and targeting houses that publish them or that are similar to those who publish them. I think poetry is a tough sell these days, but if there is room for lots of illustrations, that helps. Passion: Ruth, When you first started submitting, was it difficult finding a source for your mss? And when you did how many times could you send them stories? Ruth: Hi, Passion. It was difficult at first, only because I wasn't familiar with the publishers yet. I learned to keep a database of who bought what and what sorts of things they said they were interested in, but it's still a bit vague, I think. Editors all say they're looking for the next big thing, and that they'll know it when they receive it, but it's hard to base a submissions decision on that. Still, each publishing house has a sort of personality, and while it's sometimes really hard to figure it out, it's worth trying, because a carefully-targeted submission has a much better chance of selling faster. Once I signed with a publisher for my first book, I established a relationship with that editor which makes it easier to submit subsequent books. But I have an agent, so I am somewhat removed from the submissions process now. Tina MacKenzie: What boy's genre/age group is most in demand in your opinion? Ruth: My opinion: Middle grade boys' humor. ColoradeKate: How's the market for slightly edgy, snarky, sarcastic humor for MG? Better for book publishers than for mags? Ruth: Kate, it's hard for me to speak for the editors, but I would guess there's plenty of room out there for slightly edgy, snarky humor, if it's very well written. I've heard some editors say they are tired of snarky stuff. I've heard others say they love it. I don't know the magazine markets, so I can't comment on those (but Jan, our editor, does -- note: Jan says magazines for kids younger than teens tend to be touchy about sarcasm and snarkiness because parents can get irate about "mean kids" in magazines. So, it works better for books.). Passion: Don't you think it gets harder and harder to get published? Ruth: Passion, I think there's more and more competition. It seems everyone and his brother is out there peddling a manuscript. Luckily, there's good news: Once all of us babyboomers die off, there will be a lot less competition. But I plan to live another 53 years, so I'm afraid the world will have to learn to tolerate me. The best defense: Excellent writing. I keep telling my kids that no matter how crowded their chosen fields are, there is always room at the top. I firmly believe that's true for writers as well. Piper: Do you think the rise of celebrity books are making it harder to get published? Ruth: I've heard that viewpoint expressed by writers. I've also heard that celebrity books bring in extra money which makes it possible for more mid-list books to be published. I'm not sure which I believe. I do think celebrity books take up a bit too much room in bookstores, edging out work that's better done, but less recognized. And that's regrettable. On the other hand, some celebrity books have high entertainment value, in mostly unintended ways (kind of like renting an awful movie to make fun of). Brighton: I'm writing a chapter book and want to know how much humor should be in it. I'm having difficulty putting in appropriate humor that fits. Ruth: Brighton, don't force it. It's not worth it. Maybe there's humor in your book that you don't yet recognize as humor. I found that to be true with my books -- I didn't think I was necessarily a funny writer, but I'd hear people quoting parts of my text back to me, laughing, or my editor would circle something and write in the margin, "Hysterical!" and I'd be so surprised (and gratified). Humor is personal. People respond to different things in vastly different ways. Write the best book you can write, and don't worry about making it falling-down funny. There's plenty of room for gentle hurmor and amusing humor and quiet humor. Not everything in life is raucous or gut-splitting. (Unless you come to dinner at my house. Everything's raucous and gut-splitting, there -- but mostly in a good way) If you haven't caught the transcript of the chat with Ruth -- be sure to check it out. http://www.institutechildrenslit.com/rx/tr01/barshaw.shtml