Author Confessions: Humor is hard to write.

As a reader, I’ve enjoyed reading books that have humor. Humor can lighten a dark spot in a story or can make the characters more likeable. Watching a comedian though is far more interesting than reading their act, or listening to them. There is a physicality to humor that can be expressed in the twitch of an eyebrow or a smirk, or even the struggle the comedian has to keep from laughing themselves.

The unexpected can lead to humor. So can quirky characters. Personally, I’m not that funny but unintentionally, yes. But how does that translate to the page? Most of the time it doesn’t.

I attended a few workshops at ComedySportz in Milwaukee, Wisconsin many moons ago. I worked for a while as a hostess and the ticket booth and at that time we were encouraged to be weird and wacky if we desired. Of course, some customers bring it out better than others but they are coming there for improvisational comedy so there was a freedom to not so much tell jokes, but to try to get a smile on someone’s face. Again, this is all in person’s facial expressions, or the clothing I wore as well as tone of voice and words all mingled to get a laugh.

I was never good enough to be a mainstage player. We did workshop shows and I performed well. It was fun to be playing games that facilitated silliness and to do it with other people also trying to be funny. Not every bit was hysterical but we sure had a good time. In the classes we learned games and how to let go of the strict proper control we’ve learned to relax and let the funny come naturally—and work as a team. The biggest lesson when playing the games? Mistakes are funny. That’s why the best players, when they fail, fail big and it entertains everyone.

When I stumble upon a book with humor, I enjoy more, maybe because they are harder to find and difficult to write. When I wrote my first novel, Pesto & Potholes, I did put a silly character in there. She was very dear to me and the reality is there are people in the world like her and it showed the depth of character of my female protagonist in the way she treated this sweet woman named Edith. She was spunky and mentally ill and I towed a fine line between finding the funny and not making fun of those who struggle with such illness. I think I did it well and she as a character brought comedic relief to some emotionally heavier parts of the story. Most people loved Edith. One person commented that they didn’t understand her. Not every humorous moment will strike everyone the same way. I’m OK with that.

I’ve had an editor that has encouraged me to have more of those lighthearted, sillier moments in some of my stories and I’ve worked at that but none of my books would be described as romantic comedies. I’ve found few authors writing those as well although as an editor it is what I would love to edit the most because of the joy of the story.

I want to grow in my ability to write humor but to be honest, my own mind can be a dark place. Oh, I’ve been silly quite often and my husband especially encourages goofiness and draws it out of me because he delights in being goofy and trying to bring a smile to someone’s day. And every day he does that for me. I’m not as uninhibited.

I wrote a Christmas novella this year that deals with heavy topics but has a dash of silliness and wit to it. More than previous books. When I read it again before submitting it I found myself smiling most of the way though for the pure joy of those lighthearted moments in the story. Maybe I’ll be able to grow in that area as an author. I have another story I want to work on and I think when I start it there may be far more humor, though subtle, than some of my previous works. We’ll see.

Wit is not easy to write, but does involve a certain pacing to dialogue to make it work right. We’ll see if readers enjoy those moments as well in my upcoming Christmas novella.

Writing humor is challenging and probably why so many people don’t do it. There’s a desire to not minimize the emotional pains by adding a touch of humor to a story, but they can both exist with a deft pen (or typewriter). Here’s hoping I can grow in this area as a writer as. If I succeed, I hope my readers will appreciate the effort because humor is hard to write.

Do you enjoy humor in fiction or am I the only one?