Humor brings the world together, allows us to make light of serious topics, and some of the most effective communication is that with a sense of humor. In general we “like” “share” and “tweet” the content and post that makes us laugh. A lot of people spend significant time browsing the web anticipating the next thing that will make them laugh out loud.
In the face of this, humor writing can seem daunting and discouraging. Comedy writing certainly isn’t easy and it takes confidence. Here are some general tips to convey your clever wit in your post.
Be the best writer you can be – Being funny isn’t just about having a great sense of humor – it’s about being a great writer. If you can effectively bring your reader to the moment you discovered something that made you laugh, then the humor will follow.
Editing is key – After you have written the post, go back several times for revision. The post should have a minimum amount of words. Readers don’t want to be put to sleep by your story – they want a quick read that leads to a genuine laugh.
Being confident is the trick to comical blogging – Don’t worry that it won’t be received well. Write it, publish it, and wait for feedback. Once you have your readers convinced that you are funny, they will anticipate everything you say as being funny.
Know your audience and know yourself – Humor is subjective, so you are never going to please everybody. You have to come to terms with the fact sometimes they are laughing with you, sometimes they are laughing at you, and sometimes they aren’t laughing at all. Appreciate that different cultures have different styles of humour for example the Australians are known for having a very black sense of humor.
Learn as much as you can – Being informed and intelligent gives you a deeper pool of comedy to choose from.
Be observant to the ordinary – The reason comedians like George Carlin and Jerry Seinfeld are funny is because they are attentive and clever enough to find the amusing nuances that others miss. The type of things that leaves the audience saying “that is SO true!”
Use creative similes and metaphors – Rarely does a witty metaphor make something less funny. Rather than saying “Her hair was messy” say “Her hair was a wild lion’s mane, never washed and sticking out in every direction.”
Use Clichés to throw your reader off – Comedy relies on misdirection and surprising the reader with a punch line, and a perfect way to do this is use a common cliché with a twist of unexpected surprise. A clever cliché is perfect for the title of a blog post because it draws readers in immediately.
Writing humor isn’t easy and it’s a skill that even the best writers can find a struggle. If you believe your work is funny then you can find an audience for your work at sites like arts digital era who have a humor section. Perhaps you have heard the phrase – “Dying is easy. Comedy is hard” and if you have tried writing humor, you probably agree. With a lot of practice, following these general tips, and reading comedy blogs, stories, books, etc. you can perfect the art of humor writing.