Make Them Laugh: Thoughts on Making Your Story Humorous

I don’t know if you’ve noticed this too lately when you’re trying to pick out a new book or doing the mindless scroll through the eight million options on TV, but a lot of stories can be hard to classify into one specific genre. Is it a dramedy? A rom com? Stories can be a lot of things: heartfelt, adventurous, tragic, romantic, whatever you want them to be, really, because storytelling is a dynamic experience filled with a lot of emotions. One of the most effective elements of storytelling is humor. No one wants to sit there and be bombarded with a story that’s gut-wrenchingly sad the entire way through, in the same way that if the characters are always happy and nothing bad ever happens, there is no story to tell. Humor is something that helps keep us going through even the darkest of stories, which is no small feat.

            So, what different types of humor are there? How are they used most effectively? What do we consider when making our stories hilarious?

What Does the Author Find Funny?

            Firstly, let’s talk about the author. The type of humor your story takes on is probably due a lot toward the type of personality you have and what you find funny. For example, with me, I tend to have a drier sense of humor, so I feel like that’s the type of way I’m more likely to write a joke.

            That is, if I’m writing by myself.

            Like I said, if I’m writing on my own, I feel like I’m more likely to write in a dry, more introspective sort of humor, but something Kristin and I found really interesting was that if we’re writing together, we both tend to write funnier scenes the exact opposite of how we would alone. Meaning all the jokes are way cornier, more unhinged, and extremely over-the-top.

            This is probably because we’ve grown up together and tend to get each other going to where we’re both laughing by the end of everything. Kristin’s husband has literally said she acts differently around me than she does around anyone else, and I know I do the same. With two authors as well, you might have one person setting the other up for a joke that they might not have normally written or brainstorming a funny scene that you might not have come up with on your own. Two brains working always gives you the opportunity to think bigger and maybe see how a joke might land with the audience. If you’re writing alone, you might try running a joke by a trusted person if you’re on the fence about it.

Genre and Reading Level

            We’ve talked about this before, beyond the fact that it’s general good writing advice, but the best way to figure out what you can and can’t get away with in your book is to look at its contemporary titles.

            The whole reason I was even thinking about humor this week is because I’ve been reading Alexandra Bracken’s Silver in the Bone and thinking about the different ways stories can utilize it effectively. Silver in the Bone is a darker, YA novel full of Arthurian legend, magic, and dark curses, but what’s really struck me about it is that- dark as it can be at times- it’s really funny. This book features a dry, fast-paced banter that I’m finding hilarious. As I said, I tend to favor that sort of humor myself, so maybe that just makes it more appealing to me, but it’s very effective for the main character Tamsin’s calculating and sometimes jaded view of the world. It’s also a rivals story, so fast banter really hones in on that competitive nature between the main characters.

            As mentioned earlier, a lot of this tone might come from the author’s own humor- this is the first of Bracken’s books that I’ve read, so I’m not currently able to compare if they all read this way or not. Beyond that though, I believe Silver in the Bone is considered a YA book (generally aimed at readers 12-18), which means it’s for a bit of an older audience among younger readers. YA as a level does tend to have a sharper, maybe more restrained style of humor than say an Elementary or Middle Grade novel.

            Middle Grade in particular (considered for readers 8-12) tends to have a drastically different style of humor than YA. Take a Rick Riordan book for example. Any Percy Jackson book does have to have its heavy moments with young characters who typically don’t have a very fun background, yet the books are always filled with over-the-top humor and corny jokes, which I love. Riordan knows he’s playing to an audience that maybe needs (or wants) a more overt form of humor, as opposed to the style of humorous writing used in books with a higher age range.

            That being said, if you read Riordan’s adult suspense/mystery Tres Navarre series, you’ll find it also contains a healthy dose of humor typical to his normal writing style. I mean, they’re intense novels- if you’ve got a mystery, someone’s always got enemies or turning up dead or whatever- but one of my favorite things about these books was that, despite all the darkness in them, they were still funny. This is probably an indication of Riordan’s own humor coming through no matter what the genre was.

What Are Your Reader’s Expectations?

            Keeping with this same point, not only does a writer have to look at what is typical of the genre of the story they’re trying to tell, but keep in mind what your reader expects based on that genre.

            As with Middle Grade, you tend to have a much bolder, over-the-top type of humor that can hit with younger audiences as well as adults. YA, as we discussed, might have a slightly more mature level of humor, but can really go either way, depending on the writing style of the author. Adult books can go the same way as well. With books not sectioned out for readers who might be younger, there tends to be very little filter or holding back in terms of content. In truth, this is one of the things I really don’t like about the “adult” reading level, as I feel like a lot of writing is overly graphic for shock value. A lot of times, this is why I tend to gravitate toward YA or New Age as it’s a bit of a happier medium for me because you’re still getting a full story, but things like violence, gore, intimate content, and horror tend to be a little more toned down. If you’re fine with those things, that’s cool, but I don’t always want something gross or scary I’ve read bouncing around in my noggin where I can dwell on it.

            That being said, of the adult-level books I have read, I tend to really like the ones that have strong elements of humor. Especially when it shows up in fantasy or sci-fi, as those can be very dark and gloomy, humor is something that can really break the tension effectively.

            One thing Kristin and I consider, specifically when seeking out people to read your book, is to look for people who are used to reading and know the common elements and themes of your story’s genre and intended audience. If someone wants to read it but typically favors something else genre or style-wise, make it clear to them what they’re getting into and make sure they want to read it. If you’re looking for a certain type of feedback, you’ll probably get the best results from someone well-versed in your style. That being said, there is always value in getting feedback from those outside your story’s intended scope as well.

Your Character’s Personality

            Going back to Silver in the Bone, I mentioned that the dry, jaded humor that Tamsin uses really helps round out her character. She’s very slow to trust, wary of other’s motivations, and tends to always be waiting for the other shoe to drop- as often described in the book, Tamsin is a “prickly” character, personality-wise. If Tamsin was only those things though, but didn’t exhibit the hilariously dry humor she does, she really wouldn’t be a character the readers might like. She’s smart, you understand how the world’s made her into what she is, but the jokes she makes are what really make you like her. Plus, her on-going battle of witty banter with her rival-turned-reluctant-ally Emrys really shows the competitiveness of both, which I’m sure is a device as the two are clearly hurtling toward being love interests. I’m slightly reluctant to say that as a writer and reader who’s not finished the book yet, as I’m not sure if they’ll be some wild twist somewhere in the last quarter of the book I’ve yet to read.

            For Percy Jackson and Tres Navarre, Riordan has crafted two characters that also favor humor as maybe their main asset and defense. Now, Percy, being for a younger audience, is a little more of a misunderstood goofball thrust into bad situation after bad situation. To be honest, the older Percy we’re seeing in later books like The Chalice of the Gods is almost even funnier because at this point he literally cannot be shocked by anything, in the sense of “Oh, the gods created some horrible mess and need me to fix it again? Guess I have to.” Tres Navarre, maybe due to the fact that he’s an older, more reckless character tends to fall more on the “wise guy” side of things where he just can’t stay out of trouble, even if that trouble is mafia, murderers, or whoever he’s managed to tick off this week. Still, even in the worst situation, he’s bound to crack a joke.

            Your story’s humor has to fit and accentuate the characters behind them. If you’ve got a guarded character, their humor might be drier and used more defensively. If you’ve got a character that’s really happy-go-lucky and exuberant, they’re likely to be very loud and jokey. Just remember to try to balance everything out with their other emotions so that you’re not getting too much of one thing.

            Essentially, the humor of your story stems from you. It may not be the same every time you write and may differ with every story depending on the vibe, who you might be writing with, or the nature of your characters. As long as it works, then have fun with it and see where it goes.

            Know any good examples of books with well-written humor or just some that made you burst out laughing? Let us know!

            Thanks for reading. Write on.

            -Kamryn