Writing Humor Novels

Conveying humor using the written word is tougher than the spoken. For one, you lose the visual and vocal feedback you get from telling a funny story. You as the writer can't backtrack or modify your tale to see how the audience responds.

A humor novel cannot be the equivalent of a comedy stand-up routine. If a book devoted entirely to jokes and puns is your goal, chances are, your humor book won't be humorous. Humor writer Jason Roeder points out that these types of humor books are painfully unfunny, like "fattened versions of greeting cards."

Perhaps that's why successful humor novels are hardly ever just about humor; there is almost always another genre at play. For example, memoirs with hilarious anecdotes, science fiction parodies and fantasy satire can all be successful forms of humor novels. The key is to not think "I'm going to write a humor novel," but "I want to write a novel that's humorous."

Overview

Conveying humor using the written word is tougher than the spoken. For one, you lose the visual and vocal feedback you get from telling a funny story. You as the writer can't backtrack or modify your tale to see how the audience responds.

A humor novel cannot be the equivalent of a comedy stand-up routine. If a book devoted entirely to jokes and puns is your goal, chances are, your humor book won't be humorous. Humor writer Jason Roeder points out that these types of humor books are painfully unfunny, like "fattened versions of greeting cards."

Perhaps that's why successful humor novels are hardly ever just about humor; there is almost always another genre at play. For example, memoirs with hilarious anecdotes, science fiction parodies and fantasy satire can all be successful forms of humor novels. The key is to not think "I'm going to write a humor novel," but "I want to write a novel that's humorous."

Pitfalls

So what if you want to write a novel that's humorous? How can you make your book funny? Unfortunately, there are no guaranteed methods to getting a chuckle out of your reader.

There are, of course, certain things you shouldn't do. Authors Howard Mittelmark and Sandra Newman of "How Not to Write a Novel" warn new authors that humor is something that's difficult to achieve, and it's far better to leave jokes out of a novel then attempting it and fail. They specifically warn against using physical comedy (since readers can't "see" it), toilet humor, size jokes and jokes about a person's physique.

When authors have their characters joke around, Mittelmark and Newman advise against making the characters break into waves of laughter. Even if the joke is funny, the author looks as though he's laughing at his own jokes.

Types

There are many different types of humor authors can use. Examples include puns, sarcasm, dark humor, absurdity, word play, malapropisms, satire and irony. Even novels that don't set out to be humorous probably contains at least a few of these. Novels that place humor higher in its purpose use these elements more and in a bigger way. A whole plot twist, for example, may be based in irony or a parody of a popular sci-fi may be the backdrop for the entire novel. Remember, however, that conflict should be the driving force of any novel----not humor.

Resources

• Roeder, Jason. "The Roeder Report: You Can Write a Humor Book." Writer's Digest.