This is something i've always had trouble with when writing my books. As somewhat of a pessimist, I don't really know how to write 'bright' humor. I've watched/ read alot of comedy and while doing so did help me improve, the things I write could only bring one to make occasional smiles then and there. Any advice?
Dark humor is perfect for pessimists. >.> Otherwise, what you can do is write your story normally, then spice it up with some humor during editing. Much easier to focus on one thing at a time.
I don't see why being a pessimist would be a problem with writing humour. Ironic humour, absurdist humour and dark humour are all great forms of pessimism.
Being a pessimist and being humourless are two different things, one is lacking in positivity, the other is lacking in a bone. That was bad.
I didn't explain what I meant, my bad. I meant that due to my pessimism, I kinda feel..say, awkward when I attempt to write comedy? It's similar to how one goes out of their comfort zone. And the humor I meant is the more 'brighter' ones.
Ironic humour did work the best for me, and I have to admit that I did get a few laughs out of it, but what i'm asking of are the more 'bright' ones.
Are you writing a comedy-centered story? Cause if you are, it sounds like you're working counter-intuitive to your personality. Slapstick or silly humor doesn't generally manifest well in those with darker personalities. I don't why you're stuck on the bright side of the spectrum, but it seems it's not working for you by the sound of things. Although I think it's probably harder to pull off in novels, serious or anti-humor's always something to become familiar with.
If you're trying to write a more bright story, don't jump straight onto Comedy. It's hard for those with talent in it, let alone for those who are trying to force it. Instead, I would suggest trying to create "sweet" stories, and test out writing comedy in that on occasion in that. "Sweet" stories can range from romance (think up a drama story, and replace all the drama with awkward bashfulness, with a possible fear of rejection), heartwarming stories (stories such as "two toddlers make up adventures on their regular play-dates/kindergarten recess time"), and so forth. As you write more bright stories and test out comedy in them, you may find that you have eventually ended up writing bright comedy accidentally, which would help give you a path to write it on purpose.
I suggest dont bother at all because most of the time when I read anything that claimed to be comedic they fall flat and look stupid and forced. But I think the easiest comedy is schadenfreude kind of comedy where you make your character in the most embarrassing kind of situation so readers could laugh at them.
I kind of disagree. Schadenfreude can come across as too slapstick or awkward, and can easily be badly written. You can alienate a lot of readers and undermine the stakes of the story.
I understand what you mean, because it could be too forced if author just pile on the embarrassing things.
I'm a comedy writer. Humor is more talent dependent than other writing skills but it can be trained. That's why there are a lot of comedians who aren't naturally funny. My novel includes various types of humor from slapstick to meta. It's the top comedy on webnovel.com. Maybe you can pick up something there. It's in my sig.
The art of humor is the art of the absurd. Humans react to certain situations with just that: Laughter. The trick is keeping the balance between absurdity and reality, lest you wish to ruin your readers immersion.
Have the same problem with writing humor too! I guess the best advice I would give is to interact with some funny people. Do you have any friends and family members who are funny or say funny things? Maybe remember what funny lines they said and incorporate it into your story. But of course, it would have the fit the context of the story. Nothing worse than a random or forced humor.
I am of the belief that context is everything. For example, "My dog died." is not funny and is sad. However, having a character say, "My dog died." to a random person while the "dog" is very much alive and is, in fact a person, who is watching this unfold in a very indignant or confused manner, as an excuse as to why they need to enter the super-secret base which holds treasures beyond one mere man's knowing that they may find the mystical key to bring back the, I dunno, spin the wheel- Demon Emperor Steve, is far more hilarious. Satire is also fun, but mainly I like it 'cause spite. It's kinda going to your happy place where you can manipulate the world for your bidding to set up beautiful cosmic jokes that are not possible otherwise. Like when someone says, "At least it's not raining" and it does.
I kinda feel awkward when I try to perform ballet. Maybe it's because my behind is so huge... Maybe I shouldn't perform that ballet? :lol:
Don’t write humor alot of the time establishing “breaks” in prexisting tensions situations or atmospheres will often serve the purpose of lightning the story and often makes humor just with the juxtaposition of the prestablished enviorment to make ordinary thing more funny then they ordinarily should be.