I think the hardest form of writing is humorous writing because humour is (a) subjective and (b) changes over time. Good humorous writing is a joy to read but it is so difficult to do well.
Two of my favourite authors, P.G. Wodehouse and Terry Pratchett, have sold millions of books each and have been translated into many languages. That aspect is another reason why humour is difficult to write: not all aspects of “English” humour translate well. For it to work the humour in the stories has to be universal. Still there is plenty about the human condition to send up so the material is out there, ready to be used!
Good humorous writing develops the funny “stuff” from the situations/characters created by the author. It should read naturally and there should never be any hint of a set up situation. Ironically every scene in the book, story or play is set up but it should not feel as if it is to the reader. The writer is creating a world for their reader/listener to enter into and nothing should shatter that illusion.
Some of my favourite lines are in radio comedy, especially The Goon Show, and do not feel artificial, even though the whole thing is the product of someone’s (sometimes warped) imagination. The writer, in this case Spike Milligan, has set up the scene and the funny punchline is the inevitable result of it. You get the sense that had to be the line to complete the piece. I highly recommend reading his books of letters too. Very funny and there are some wonderful lines in them (especially if you like put downs to officialdom!).
Writing a series in humour (Discworld and Jeeves and Wooster possibly being the obvious examples) gives the writer time to develop their characters further. Characters have to develop otherwise they will seem like cardboard cut-outs. This means the humour can develop too. In the first story a naive character simply wouldn’t tell, for example, certain jokes. If over time, the character is shown to have lost their naivety, then it would be reasonable to show them now enjoying the jokes they wouldn’t have done in the beginning.
Humorous writing at its very best will also tell us something about ourselves. Satire is the ultimate example of this. I love sketch comedy because, as with flash fiction, its brevity forces the writer to come to the point nigh on immediately and it should have a memorable punchline. The writer will be looking for impact to make their sketch comedy stand out from the thousands the BBC receive when they open their submissions windows.
Humorous writing can travel well – in time. At last year’s Medieval Weekend I laughed out loud at the performance of Chaucer’s The Miller’s Tale. Jane Austen is more popular than she has ever been (and she must be one of the first women to use irony in their work). There is an acceptance here I think that sometimes the humour is of its time but in both these cases the wit of Jane and the bawdy humour of Chaucer “carry” well. There will always be an appreciation of wit and cheeky humour. (What would Chaucer have made of the Carry On Films I wonder!).
Humorous writing can carry a message but it does this best when the writer follows the old adage to show and not tell. We can tell what characters are like by what they do and one of my favourite TV series, Only Fools and Horses, did this brilliantly. The very best writing gives you character types you can identify just by using the names. If I tell you someone is a real “Del Boy” or a “Rodney” or an “Uncle Albert”, most of you will know what I am referring to. I don’t need to elaborate. At no point does John Sullivan tell us these characters care for one another deeply but he does show them time and time again standing by each other. If ever there was a show that illuminated the importance of a caring family, it is this one.
The lovely thing about humorous writing is it does not have to be the full story, nor does it exclude tragedy or other forms of drama. Alan Bennett proves this with his fantastic monologues. I have fond memories of A Cream Cracker Under the Settee with Thora Hird starring especially as it is funny and tragic.
Humour can work well in poetry too. Obviously there are the limericks (and I’m Sorry I Haven’t a Clue had rounds based on these) but you can have full length work. Humorous writing opens the way up for spoofs too.
My late mother had one big blind spot when it came to reading. She had books in a wide range of genres and particularly liked H.G. Wells but she just couldn’t read funny fiction. Anything remotely humorous would bypass her. On the other hand, I wanted, when much younger, to have my own library filled with books I wanted (achieved), some of those books to have my name on the front cover (getting there!) and there had to be a good selection of funny fiction (achieved many years ago!).
Funniest extract in a longer work? The Great Sermon Handicap by Wodehouse. Read it and laugh! Oh and can humour ever be used to convey a serious point? Definitely. Read Wodehouse’s send up of the far right with his portrayal of Roderick Spode. We need that kind of send up again (sadly).
And for those who prefer audio, Wodehouse is just as funny this way.
My top three funny books
My top three funny books? I’d say:-
1. Raising Steam – Terry Pratchett
2. Pride and Prejudice – Jane Austen
3. The Code of the Woosters – P.G. Wodehouse
Read interviews with Chandler’s Ford writer Allison Symes: Part 1 and Part 2.
Read blog posts by Allison Symes published on Chandler’s Ford Today.
Related Posts – book discussions ones
Is this also homourous writing, or pure horror?
“Children getting top GCSE grades expected to be cut in half under new reforms.” (Daily Telegraph, 24 August 2017)
Definitely, Janet. Great example of the “unintentional humorous writing” that misspelling, wrongly placed punctuation etc can create. Favourite one of these at Swanwick Writers’ Summer School this year was “Let’s eat grandma”. Oldie but a goodie (unless you ARE grandma of course).
Hi Allison,
Like you I love humour and I also love writing it. I have to admit I’ve never read Pride and Prejudice, so I’ll have to take your word for it that it’s funny! Terry Pratchett and Milligan were in a class of their own (as were many others), but I also loved Galton and Simpson’s Hancok’s Halfhour. The Blood Donor is a classic, but unfortunately it never gets repeated, so younger people will never know about “an empty arm” or “legalised vampires”. Such a shame.
Hi, Richard.
Pride and Prejudice, which I first read at secondary school, was my introduction to irony in writing. Jane Austen sends up pompous characters beautifully without going over the top. Yes I like Jane Eyre and the Brontes but there’s precious little humour in any of their works!! I do wonder if this was one reason why Charlotte Bronte, to my mind, looked down on Austen. Humorous writing is not always appreciated (a) at all and (b) in Austen’s case for its subtlety. Sadly, this is still true. P.G. Wodehouse can be dismissed (and I’ve come across examples of this) because he wrote funny material. I’ve never understood why. You just try writing funny stories, novels etc. Definitely not as easy as it looks.
Yes, Terry Pratchett and Milligan were geniuses. The Goon Show episode The Spanish Suitcase has, I think, one of the best openings to a radio show ever. It sends up the Archers and is still as funny and relevant to that show as it was when A Spanish Suitcase first went on air in the late fifties!
Always think of The Blood Donor when I’m waiting down at St. Bonifaces for them to take my “nearly an armful”. (Probably doesn’t help much though!).
Some humorous writing is accidental and makes good headlines.
• Miners refuse to work after death.
• Mad cow talks.
• Headless body found in topless bar.
• Study reveals those without insurance die more often.
• Newlyweds aged 82 have problem.
• Miami considers staying put.
• Slowdown continues to accelerate.
• France set to smash B.O. records.
• Stiff opposition to graveyard plan.
• Midget sues grocer, cites belittling remarks.
• Diana was alive hours before she died.
• Federal agents raid gun shop, find weapons.
• Seventeen remain dead in morgue shooting spree.
• Homicide victims rarely talk to police.
• Statistics show teenage pregnancy drops off significantly after age 25.
• Dead body found in cemetery.
• One armed man applauds kindness of strangers.
• Lohan’s second trip to Morgue is a success.
• Britain inches reluctantly towards metric system.
• Queen Mary having bottom scraped.
• Threats disrupt plans to meet about threats.
• Crematorium plans put on back boiler.
• We think rain caused floods, say Thames Valley Water.
• Footballer on mend after fatal car crash.
• A touching story of child abuse.
• Legislator wants tougher death penalty.
• Tiger Woods plays with own balls – says Nike.
• Straw’s pledge to rape victims.
• It’s the fastest time ever run, but it’s not as fast as the world record.
• Mayor’s ball is back on the menu.
• MPs take a close look at pornography.
• 500 year old child found.
• Forest have now lost 6 matches without winning.
• If that had gone in, it would have been a goal.
• Army to use ‘green’ tungsten bullets.
• Paras push bottles up Germans.
• Caskets found as workers demolish mausoleum.
And some spelling mistakes. The Guardian used to be good for spelling boopers, that is why it is called the Grauniad. Now they must have spell checkers in their typesetting machines.
• The Art of Writting.
• Leteracy Night.
• This is America and our only lananguage is English.
Finally, one my wife said she heard recently:
‘UKIP want to bring back the death penalty for suicide bombers.’
Has anyone any more contributions?
Thanks for this, Mike. So much wonderful humour is unintentional! One of my favourites, which I know was published in Private Eye some time ago, was when someone meant to say “devil’s advocate” and came out with “devil’s apricot”. I will sometimes use this “wrong” phrase deliberately (and always with a smile). Just had a quick scan on the Echo’s online headlines. Found “MP steps in to stop Duke’s decline”. Decent of them! (Is actually a very nice story about a butterfly!).
Interesting article, Alison, and so true. Humour has to be natural, arising from the characters and situation, not just jokes that are shoe-horned in. I didn’t intend my first book, Scuba Dancing, to be a comedy but it soon became clear that I couldn’t write without humour popping up. As in life, ‘cheerfulness keeps breaking in!’
Many thanks, Nicola. I think much the same can be said for drama funnily enough. Drama also has to be natural coming from the characters and setting created, otherwise it really is melodrama (and though there is a place for that, it is not to my taste and I think rings false). Real humour/drama has resonance with the reader and keeps them gripped to the page/screen or what have you. It has to be “honest” to have that effect.