I put my humor-writing techniques to the test to see if they will actually make my dramatic story funny.
Can We Really Make It Funny?
By Matthew L. Hart
Writer & Humorist
Author of:
Uncle Matty's Halloween: Jokes, Bits & Anecdotes
"From there to here, and here to there, funny things are everywhere."
I showed you
Now, I want to use the tools in The Writer's Toolbox to create a scene and start practicing some of these techniques to see if we can really make a dramatic scene funny.
Excellent! Let's give Marcie a bigger part, shall we?
Marcie enters,
The inflating silence was punctured by the erratic clickity-clacity claws of Marcie's feet against the white linoleum floor.
Let's ask some questions.
Can Marcie speak?
If Marcie speaks, does everyone hear her or only Laurie?
What if...Marcie was a ghost that only Laurie could see?
BINGO!
There's our unique perspective with a kind of Sixth-Sense movie twist.
The inflating silence was punctured by Laurie's elegant fingernails as they rapped against the crinkled pages like the erratic clickity-clacity claws of Marcie's feet on the white linoleum floor.
She examined the animal's claws, "Oh, honey. You need a trim."
Becomes,
She examined the animal's claws, "Oh, honey. You chipped a nail."
Dustin furiously chewed his lower lip. "Just stop it already. You're acting like a crazy person!" He considered his options.
FANTASTIC! We've really got something here that will also work for our third technique for injecting humor.
Now, let's pay that off at the end of the scene.
In his sights he saw Laurie holding her arms out. "Marcie needs a bath." She said, as innocent as a guilty widow. Dustin balled his fists and pushed off with a deep growl, leaving Laurie with her arms outstretched and empty. "Will you let it go, already?" Dustin huffed. "That dog's been dead for three months!"
THIS IS AWESOME!
Finally, let's throw in our BONUS Technique and find something to exaggerate.
I've noticed that the color pink came up.
A Pomeranian never looked so chic in her fancy, pink, Tiffany collar.
Let's exaggerate that and make everything we can PINK!
Also, since Marcie exists only in Laurie's imagination, let's exaggerate the appearance of this animal in a way that seems ridiculous, but fitting from Laurie's point of view.
A Pomeranian never looked so chic in her fancy, pink, Tiffany collar with .33ct, pink, heart shaped, diamond pendant set within a 14k gold bezel.
Okay!
"From there to here, and here to there, funny things are everywhere."
- Dr. Seauss
I showed you
3 Ways To Infuse Humor Into Your Writing
Now, I want to use the tools in The Writer's Toolbox to create a scene and start practicing some of these techniques to see if we can really make a dramatic scene funny.
Let's spin the wheel on the first Protagonist Palette to get our Hero.
"Laurie, the famous actress"
Now, let's nab our First Sentence
"He swore on his mother's grave, but then he swore on just about everything."
Lets flip the timer and get Laurie into action!
He swore on his mother's grave, but then he swore on just about everything. Laurie didn't care for Television Producers. However, they were too far along into production of the Pilot to recast her roll, and she wanted a better part. Something fun, she thought. Something memorable. She was tired of always playing the starchy, old, mother. Boring! Why should her age matter? Couldn't she have something funny to say? Or, at least, have something fun to do? "No more!" Laurie asserted. "I refuse to keep playing the straight man any longer. I'm not coming out of my trailer until we get a rewrite on this scene."
Wow! We just might find some potential here. Let's pull a Sixth-Sense card and see if we can develop something about who this Television Producer character could be.
For our Sixth-Sense Card, we have:
"the sound of Marcie's feet"
The timer flips and we talk about Marcie!
Dustin puffed his chest out. "I don't care if you don't like the part, Laurie." His voice rattled the windows. "That's how it's written. That's what you auditioned for, and that's why I'm paying you!" Dustin huffed. Laurie's gaze drilled through Dustin from the reflection off her vanity mirror. "Don't tell me what I auditioned for! I know what I auditioned for." She quickly turned on her seat. "During auditions, you gave me a bouncy little scene to act as, Margo. And, as far as I can read, that scene was cut out four drafts ago." She slammed her script on the vanity. Dustin chewed this over. The inflated silence was punctured by the erratic clickity-clacity claws of Marcie's feet against the white linoleum floor. "There's my princess." Laurie said, as Marcie jumped onto her lap. She examined the animal's claws, "Oh, honey. You need a trim." She ran her fingers over the fluffy mass of silk fur. A Pomeranian never looked so chic in her fancy, pink, Tiffany collar. "All I want is the part I auditioned for. And I'm not coming back until I have it." Dustin furiously chewed his lower lip as he considered his options. "Fine. Fine! Laurie, you win. We'll make you funny. We'll make you the laughing stock of Prime Time! Mark my words!" Dustin railed as he exploded out of the trailer. Laurie stood up quickly, advancing his retreat. "And, one more thing, deary!" Dustin became a lawn statue, his muscles flexed hard as marble. "Oh, you've got a lot of nerve asking me for any more favors." He turned slowly. Or, more rather, he rotated like a turret, ready to give her both barrels. In his sights he saw Laurie holding her arms out. "Marcie needs a bath." She said, as innocent as a guilty widow. Dustin balled his fists and pushed off with a deep growl, leaving Laurie with her company.
Excellent! Now, that we've made a scene, let's see if we can punch it up, or if I'm full of garbage.
The first method I like to use, is to scan for or create any list of threes.
Luckily, there's one that happened organically, so we won't have to create one:
Dustin says,
"That's how it's written. That's what you auditioned for, and that's why I'm paying you!"
Now, we list out our items:
1. That's how it's written.
2. That's what you auditioned for.
3. That's why I'm paying you.
By changing out the last item on this list to something that is similar, but different, or even ridiculous.
And, let's flip it. Instead of Dustin talking about himself on the last item, maybe he talks about Laurie?
3. You're dressed like a mortician.
Choosing a third item is fun and difficult.
Depending on your mood, you might choose to crank the dial all the way up to Chicken Suit, but I shot for something unusual but, still above the mean.
I'll plug this line in later.
1. That's how it's written.
2. That's what you auditioned for.
3. That's why I'm paying you.
How can we make this funny?
And, let's flip it. Instead of Dustin talking about himself on the last item, maybe he talks about Laurie?
3. You're dressed like a mortician.
Choosing a third item is fun and difficult.
Depending on your mood, you might choose to crank the dial all the way up to Chicken Suit, but I shot for something unusual but, still above the mean.
I'll plug this line in later.
Now, let's look for any observations we can find from a unique point of view.
Let's identify the characters in this scene.
Protagonist - Laurie, the famous actress
Dustin - the Television Producer
Marcie - the spoiled Pomeranian
Excellent! Let's give Marcie a bigger part, shall we?
Marcie enters,
The inflating silence was punctured by the erratic clickity-clacity claws of Marcie's feet against the white linoleum floor.
Let's ask some questions.
Can Marcie speak?
If Marcie speaks, does everyone hear her or only Laurie?
What if...Marcie was a ghost that only Laurie could see?
BINGO!
There's our unique perspective with a kind of Sixth-Sense movie twist.
Let's write Marcie in as a ghost dog that only Laurie can see.
The inflating silence was punctured by Laurie's elegant fingernails as they rapped against the crinkled pages like the erratic clickity-clacity claws of Marcie's feet on the white linoleum floor.
We can also punch this scene up a bit more if she talks to Marcie more like a friend than a pet.
She examined the animal's claws, "Oh, honey. You need a trim."
Becomes,
She examined the animal's claws, "Oh, honey. You chipped a nail."
Now, we need to hint that Dustin can't actually see Marcie.
Dustin furiously chewed his lower lip. "Just stop it already. You're acting like a crazy person!" He considered his options.
FANTASTIC! We've really got something here that will also work for our third technique for injecting humor.
Set-up and Payoff
We've just set up that only Laurie can see Marcie.
Now, let's pay that off at the end of the scene.
In his sights he saw Laurie holding her arms out. "Marcie needs a bath." She said, as innocent as a guilty widow. Dustin balled his fists and pushed off with a deep growl, leaving Laurie with her arms outstretched and empty. "Will you let it go, already?" Dustin huffed. "That dog's been dead for three months!"
THIS IS AWESOME!
Finally, let's throw in our BONUS Technique and find something to exaggerate.
I've noticed that the color pink came up.
A Pomeranian never looked so chic in her fancy, pink, Tiffany collar.
Let's exaggerate that and make everything we can PINK!
Also, since Marcie exists only in Laurie's imagination, let's exaggerate the appearance of this animal in a way that seems ridiculous, but fitting from Laurie's point of view.
A Pomeranian never looked so chic in her fancy, pink, Tiffany collar with .33ct, pink, heart shaped, diamond pendant set within a 14k gold bezel.
Okay!
Time for a rewrite!
He swore on his mother's grave, but then he swore on just about everything. Laurie didn't care for Television Producers. However, they were too far along into production of the Pilot to recast her roll, and she wanted a better part. Something fun, she thought. Something memorable. She was tired of always playing the starchy, old, mother. Boring! Why should her age matter? Couldn't she have something funny to say? Or, at least, have something fun to do? "No more!" Laurie asserted. "I refuse to keep playing the straight man any longer. I'm not coming out of my trailer until we get a rewrite on this scene." Dustin puffed his chest out. "I don't care if you don't like the part, Laurie." His voice rattled the windows. "That's how it's written. That's what you auditioned for, and that's why you're dressed like a mortician!" Dustin huffed. Laurie's gaze drilled through Dustin from the reflection off her vanity mirror. "Don't tell me what I auditioned for! I know what I auditioned for." She quickly turned on her pink-flamingo seat. "During auditions, you gave me a bouncy little scene to act as, Margo. And, as far as I can read, that scene was cut out four drafts ago." She slammed her script on the vanity. Dustin chewed this over. The inflated silence was punctured by Laurie's elegant coral fingernails as they rapped against the crinkled pages like the erratic clickity-clacity claws of Marcie's feet on the blush linoleum floor. "There's my princess." Laurie said, as Marcie jumped onto her lap. She examined the animal's French-manicured claws "Oh, honey. You chipped a nail." She ran her fingers over the fluffy mass of silk fur. A Pomeranian never looked so chic in her fancy, rouge, Tiffany collar with .33ct, pink, heart shaped diamond pendant, set within a 14k gold bezel. "All I want is the part I auditioned for. And I'm not coming back until I have it." Dustin furiously chewed his lower lip. "Just stop it already. You're acting like a crazy person!" He considered his options. "Fine. Fine! Laurie, you win. We'll make you funny. We'll make you the laughing stock of Prime Time! Mark my words!" Dustin railed as he exploded out of the bubblegum trailer. Laurie stood up quickly, advancing his retreat. "And, one more thing, deary!" Dustin became a lawn statue, his muscles flexed hard as marble. "Oh, you've got a lot of nerve asking me for any more favors." He turned slowly. Or, more rather, he rotated like a turret, ready to give her both barrels. In his sights he saw Laurie holding her arms out. "Marcie needs a bath." She said, as innocent as a guilty widow. Dustin balled his fists and pushed off with a deep growl, leaving Laurie with her arms outstretched and empty. "Will you let it go, already?" Dustin huffed. "That dog's been dead for three months!"
I hope this showed you how to use The Writer's Toolbox to create a scene and how to infuse your story with energy by using some of my humor-writing techniques.
Which version of the scene did you like the best?
TELL US WHICH SCENE YOU PREFERRED IN THE COMMENTS BELOW
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