Ten-Minute Blog Break - 28th May

It's been fun, fun, fun in the sun (sun, sun) this bank holiday weekend, so let's keep the vibe going here on the Blog Break with a super SCBWI humour special!


One of the most fascinating things about writing humour is how personal it is. For his blog at the Funeverse, writer and illustrator Alex Craggs discusses his approach to making with the funny - "I try to create something that makes me laugh, because out there in the world somewhere there are (probably) people who share my sense of humour." Alex also gives some practical tips for how to spin the ordinary into the extraordinarily silly by asking lots of "what if" questions to increase the absurdity. Plus, he has a drawing of a woman with noodles for hair!

Wendy Meddour has managed to sneak her way onto the Guardian Children's blog for a second time, with a great post listing her top tips for writing funny fiction. Again, we see an emphasis on taking everyday life and giving it a twist, and it seems that Wendy's childhood gave her plenty of material! In case you missed it, you can also check out her earlier Guardian post, a video showing how she and her daughter Mina work together to create the illustrations in their latest book.

Finally, Dougal Trump author Jackie Marchant gives an interview over at Notes from the Slushpile where she talks about the secret of being funny. Apparently, it's to not be funny. Yes, I was confused too, until Jackie elaborates that she doesn't know if something she's written is funny until she gives it to someone else to read. In fact, this paradoxical inability to see the funny side seems to allow Jackie to get further into character, and bring the humour out naturally without forcing in a bunch of jokes.

So there you have it, three funny writers with three very different ways of writing humour. Perhaps you have another way again of approaching funny writing? Do leave a comment and tell us all about it!

Nick.


Nick Cross is a children's writer, blogger and all-round digital guru. In 2010 he was a winner of Undiscovered Voices with his zombie comedy Back from the Dead.
Read Nick's latest blog post, in which he considers the pleasures and the pitfalls of using Writing as Therapy.

12 comments:

  1. Thanks Nick, I was glad to find that if you go to Alex's blog there's the link to Kathy Evans' write up of Lin Oliver's sessions at last year's conference - 5 Truths and 12 Tips for Writing Humour.

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  2. Thanks, Nick. I love funny, and I'll look up the other two posts you mention. (Saw Jackie's this morning which has a couple of great cringe-making scenarios which had me grinning from ear to ear.) Without wishing to sound ponderous, I wonder about our industry norm which says a book is either funny or serious. Okay, that's an over-simplification and of course you can make a serious point humorously. It's just that I'd love to inject more humour into my scenes but can't keep it up for 60,000 words.

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    1. Hi, Rowena. I think it's very much a question of tone - how much humour can you add without changing your serious book into something else? It does seem that for a book to be primarily categorised as humour, it needs to have not too many words and not too much in the way of plot. There also seems to be a bias towards humour for boys, despite the fact that girls like to laugh just as much (if not more).

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  3. Celia J Anderson28 May 2013 at 15:53

    Thanks for these, Nick - will have a proper look later. Really enjoying your own blog too. Great to see the splendid and extremely funny Jeeves and Wooster featured on Jackie's interview, two of my favourite blokes, living in a world where an afternoon drink wasn't frowned on, but essential.

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    1. I now have a vision of you in the classroom after the kids have gone home, sitting with your feet up on the desk and cradling a dry martini ;-)

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    2. This is a wonderful image.

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    3. Celia J Anderson29 May 2013 at 05:26

      I'll mention it at the next staff meeting - medicinal martini. Beneficial for all, and fairly light on the calories. What's not to like?

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  4. Thanks, Nick - all these posts give a great insight into funny fiction! And just to let everyone know, we have a blog post a month plus extras on The funEverse (shameless plug!) http://www.thefuneverse.com/poets-blog.html

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    1. Plug away Lesley! The Funeverse is a lot of laughs:o)

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  5. Cheers Nick, blogging is hard! Writing this month's funeverse blog gave me new found respect for people like your good self who always find something interesting to say.

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  6. Thanks for the mention, Nick. And true: when I'm not being funny, I'm busy sneaking into things. No time for all that 'serious' nonsense ;)

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