Intro

I’ve always loved humor. From sarcastic remarks to panicked chaos, I appreciate all sorts of humor in the things that I read and watch—which, naturally, led me to wanting to incorporate humor into my own stories when I first started writing.

Like with everything, writing good humor is a skill. To some people, it comes naturally but, to others, it takes a little more effort. Either way, the more you do it, the better you get. So, even if you don’t consider yourself a funny person, don’t let that hold you back; with practice, anyone can learn to be funny.

So, I’d say that the best way to get good at writing humor is to practice. But there are some other things that can help too, and also a few things that I personally try to keep in mind when I’m writing humor. These are the things that I’m going to be talking about today.

What Do You Find Funny?

Whenever I need inspiration for a funny scene I’m trying to write, I always turn to the movies, shows, books, and comics that have made me laugh in the past. For me, the vast majority of my inspiration for funny scenes comes from Marvel movies and Legend of Drizzt books, because I can almost always rely on the funny scenes in both to actually feel funny to me. Obviously, the places where other people take their inspiration might be very different, which is totally normal, because everyone’s sense of humor is different. Find whatever media makes you personally laugh and take inspiration from that.

Obviously, you don’t want to copy it or do exactly the same thing, but you can learn a lot from just absorbing it. Just after watching/reading so much of the two things that I mentioned above, for example, I’ve kind of developed a feel for that sort of humor, which I think is pretty much the goal here. I can write something that I feel has a similar vibe, without it basically being a copy-and-paste of a scene from Ant-Man or something.

I get that, for some people, trying to write something similar to something you like might seem intimidating. You might watch a funny scene in a movie and think that you can’t possibly pull off something as good. And maybe it’s true—I know that the funny scenes I wrote around when I first started writing weren’t nearly as good as they are now—but that’s where practice comes in. If you don’t try, you’ll never get better, and you’ll never reach your goal. So, even if you’re unsure, give it a shot and see what happens.

Timing is Key

When I first started writing, I didn’t really appreciate how important timing can be for humor. When a funny part happens and the context around it can greatly impact how a reader perceives it, and often even how funny they find it. 

I use humor a lot to try to lighten the mood of kind of tense or serious scenes, but sometimes it isn’t always appropriate. Like, if the protagonist’s best friend just died or something, then it probably wouldn’t be the best time for someone to go and make a crack, because the scene is most likely supposed to be dramatic and emotional, and trying to incorporate humor could feel a little awkward or forced.

But, that said, the appropriate timing for funny parts is often different depending on the story I’m writing and the overall vibe I want it to have. Like, if the story is supposed to have a kind of wacky and sarcastic feel, then maybe it would feel appropriate to try to put some humor in something like a death scene. In a story that’s supposed to be more serious and dramatic, on the other hand, that wouldn’t feel natural and would probably screw up the immersion of the scene. But, in something more satiric, it would fit right in. So that’s another thing that I can think about if I’m unsure about the timing of a funny moment.

Basically, you want your humor to feel natural in the given circumstances, and to be conscious of when you’re doing it. 

Comic Relief Characters

Comic relief characters are probably the easiest way to incorporate humor into any story. Now, I know that a lot of writers kind of stick up their noses when someone mentions comic relief characters—largely because they’re often portrayed in popular media as being dumb and depthless, and maybe even sometimes a little annoying—but hear me out. There’s no rule that says these types of characters have to be flat or stupid or annoying, or anything like that—they just have to serve the primary purpose of being the funny person who lightens the mood. That’s literally all that’s actually required of them.

Besides, there are plenty of lovable comic relief characters out there to balance out the bad ones. Like Olaf from Frozen and C-3PO from Star Wars: A New Hope, to give some examples. Sure, these two characters aren’t really all that deep, but that doesn’t necessarily make them bad. And, if you know these characters, it doesn’t really take much thought at all to see that, while there are similarities between them, they’re definitely unique from each other too, which is a good example of how all comic relief characters don’t have to be exactly the same.

And, actually, the case of C-3PO moves me onto my next point. While characters that are purely comic relief can work in some instances, there are a lot of cases where they don’t really fit in with the rest of the story. But this doesn’t mean that you can’t have a comic relief character at all. A lot of the best comic relief characters are actually the ones who are partially comic relief, and partially something else. Take C-3PO, for example. He obviously serves a comedic role in the movies, but he’s important to the plot too, which isn’t typical of a character who is purely comic relief. Another thing that sets him apart from purely comic relief characters is that he also kind of serves as a foil to R2-D2, highlighting both of their personalities by contrasting C-3PO’s cautious, rule-abiding attitude with R2-D2’s adventurous, impulsive one. If he didn’t exist, R2’s personality probably wouldn’t have shined through quite the same and, if R2 didn’t exist, 3PO’s probably wouldn’t have either.

I almost always go more with this sort of comic relief character: One that’s supposed to be funny, yes, but also one that serves a bigger role in the overall story too. Maybe the comic relief character is also the foil or the sidekick or something. Or maybe, if the protagonist is funny, they can kind of serve as their own comic relief, and you don’t need to make an official comic relief character to fill the role.

Don’t Be a Jerk

A common mistake that writers make when trying to write humor is that their jokes can sometimes be offensive. A lot of the time (but not all the time), this is an accident, and they just didn’t think it through, but that’s not an excuse for writing something that comes off as disrespectful.

Like with everything, you don’t want to be insensitive when you’re writing humor in a story. Never make jokes about serious real-world issues or specific real-world groups of people, especially if you’re not personally a part of that group. If any of these issues come up in your story, they should always be approached with care, and no jokes whatsoever should be made about them. 

Outro

Writing humor may seem intimidating at first, but it’s really not that hard once you start getting a feel for it. Like everything writing-related, practice is the best way to improve, but keeping the things I mentioned in mind can help if you’re having trouble.

Thanks for reading, and be sure to check back later this month for the next book recommendation post!