“Is that a broadsword on your belt,
or are you just glad to see me?”
<from Rowena Through the
Wall>
I hope you smiled at that line. I think it’s one of my best. My name is
Melodie Campbell, and I write comedies.
(This is a self-help group, right?) Sure I’d like to kick the habit and write a
‘real’ book with literary merit. <author grimaces here>
Okay, so that’s a lie. Leave The
Goddaughter’s Revenge behind? Not
write a sequel? I’m starting to
hyperventilate. Actually, I love writing
comedies. It’s in my blood.
A GREEK MASK
Some people are born beautiful. But most of us aren’t, and we look for ways
to survive the slings and arrows of life.
Sometimes we choose to hide behind a mask. That Greek Comedy mask was the one I picked
way back.
COMEDY IS TRAGEDY BARELY AVERTED
Always remember this: Comedy has its root in
tragedy. Making fun of our foibles is one way we cope.
As a means of self-preservation in the cruel world
of teenagers, I looked for the ‘funny.’
More often than not, I made fun of myself. This was easy to do. I knew the target well and there was a wealth
of material. And it didn’t hurt anyone
else, so people liked it.
When I left school and had a ‘real’ job, I started
writing stand-up on the side. I rarely
delivered it – usually I wrote for others. That led to a regular newspaper
humour column, and more.
So when it came to writing novels, I fell back into
‘safe mode.’ Write it funny.
You can too.
Here’s a starter kit:
The rule of ‘WORST
THING’
(aka: Never
go easy on your protagonist.)
Comedy writers take a situation, and ask themselves
‘what’s the worst thing that could happen now?’
<that’s the tragedy angle> And then, ‘what’s the funniest?’
What’s the worst thing that could happen to The Goddaughter when she is reluctantly
recruited to carry hot gemstones over the border in the heel of her shoe? Predictable would be: she gets caught at
customs. But I don’t want predictable. I want funny.
Instead, the
shoes get stolen. By a complete amateur! It’s embarrassing, that’s what it is.
How is she going to keep this from her new boyfriend Pete, who thinks she’s
gone clean? And what the heck is she going to tell her uncle, the crime boss?
Nothing, of
course. She’s going to steal them
back. Or die trying.
And
hopefully the audience will die laughing.
TIP 1 –
Adding Comedy via your Plot
Now take
your novel: Create a confrontation for
your protagonist. What’s the worst thing that could happen to
her? Then ratchet it up: what’s the most
embarrassing thing, from her point
of view?
Alternate
between worst and embarrassing. This
keeps your reader intrigued, and raises the stakes. They don’t know whether her next encounter
will be deadly or hilarious.
TIP 2 –
Adding Comedy via the way you put together Words
Now let’s
step it up. Add wordplay. Have a member of the
cast says funny or clever things. It
doesn’t have to be your protagonist.
Sometimes it is best to make this character a side-kick. Examples:
surprise,
unexpected, sarcasm, exaggeration, words with double meaning
i. Surprise
or unexpected:
“I had the flu
once. It was terrible. I couldn’t eat a thing for three hours.”
<from
Rowena and the Viking Warlord>
This
works because we expect to hear something else at the end: “I couldn’t eat a
thing for three days.” Instead, we hear
“three hours.” This is an example of the surprise or
unexpected, plus exaggeration, giving us a chuckle. But wait a minute: this is also
self-deprecating. Three in one.
ii. Example
2: Remember how this post started?
“Is
that a broadsword on your belt, or are you just glad to see me?”
This is an example of wordplay that
requires the reader to have some prior knowledge or education. We know the
original May West line, where the gun substitutes for something else. This exaggerates the gun into something
bigger. The reader feels clever for
getting the joke.
So…do you really want to join me in
this reckless trade? Read below.
THE TROUBLE WITH WRITING COMEDY
When people ask
what I write, I say ‘comedies.’ Then I
give the genres (crime capers and time travel fantasy.) My books are comedies first and
foremost. I look for plots that will
lend themselves to laughs.
This is
different from authors who say they write humorous mysteries, for
instance. In this case, they would peg
their books mysteries first. The humour
is secondary.
It’s tough
writing comedy. Here’s why:
1. Everyone expects your next book to be just as
funny or funnier than your last.
Example:
Janet Evanovich. Readers are complaining
that her 20th Stephanie Plum book isn’t as funny as her earlier
books. They are giving it 2 and 3
stars. Twenty books, people! Think
about that. I’m on my fourth book in two different comedy series, and I’m
finding it tough to sustain the humour in book four. Believe me, this woman
is a master.
2. When
you write something that isn’t meant to be funny (or is mildly humorous but not
comedy) people are disappointed. But it’s not funny, is what I hear
most. Talk about type-casting.
3. You
will never be taken seriously for most awards.
Again,
comedy – particularly in crime writing - is rarely taken seriously for
awards. This drives some writers
nuts. It seems to be endemic that books on
the short lists are usually ones written with gravitas, on subjects that are
‘important’ or grim. To quote a colleague, “It seems to me, the more grim a
book, the more merit is ascribed to it.”
Blame the Scandinavians.
4. It’s
hard to get published.
This
is lamentable. It’s hard to get a
publisher for comedic novels. Many seem to be afraid of funny books. Again, it may be the part about not being a
‘serious’ book, and thus not seen as an ‘important’ book.
Film
suffers from a similar stigma. How often
these days do comedies win Oscars?
5. The
expectations are HUGE.
Not
only will you be expected to produce a book with great plot, characterization,
viewpoint, motivation and dialogue like all the other writers, but along with
that you also have to make people laugh consistently throughout it. It’s like there is a sixth requirement for
you, an additional test that others don’t need to pass. And you don’t get any more money for it.
Sucks,
right? So why do it?
1. Because
good comedy is magic to some readers.
They love you for making them smile.
2. Because
not everyone can do it. There is talent as well as craft.
3. Because
making people laugh is what you do.
You’ve done it since you were in high school. Most of us who write comedy were the class
clowns.
4.
Because you’re mad, like I am. Well at
least, madcap.
We do it for readers. Hopefully,
we’ve lightened their day with laughter, and in some cases given them a story
they can escape into, over and over again.
Postscript: THE GODDAUGHTER’S REVENGE broke the rule and
won both the 2014 Derringer and the 2014 Arthur Ellis award for best crime
novella this year! Author is still in
shock.
