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How To Add Humor To Your Novel: Learn To Write Funny Scenes
“If you want to learn how to write humor, get this book!” - NY Times Bestselling Author Darynda Jones
THE COMPLETE HUMOR GUIDE FOR NOVELISTS
Learning how to add humor to your stories isn’t a bumfuzzle science. After all, humor is a result of imagination, and we fiction authors are imaginative. Of course, mastering the skill of witty will require you to ever-so-slightly DEVELOP a sense of humor. You can’t stay unfunny and still write funny. That’s not how this works.
Once you’ve learned the nine things that cause laughter, and the dozen comedic tools best suited to create that kind of humor in your story, you’ll then learn how to translate your new knowledge onto the pages of your books. Plus, on those days your funny bone needs a little extra kick in the derrière, you’ll have oodles of examples of how I used the laugh-inducing tips and tricks in my own award-winning contemporary and paranormal romantic comedies.
This book may cause you to forever see the world through a haze of hilarity.
THE COMPLETE HUMOR GUIDE FOR NOVELISTS
Learning how to add humor to your stories isn’t a bumfuzzle science. After all, humor is a result of imagination, and we fiction authors are imaginative. Of course, mastering the skill of witty will require you to ever-so-slightly DEVELOP a sense of humor. You can’t stay unfunny and still write funny. That’s not how this works.
Once you’ve learned the nine things that cause laughter, and the dozen comedic tools best suited to create that kind of humor in your story, you’ll then learn how to translate your new knowledge onto the pages of your books. Plus, on those days your funny bone needs a little extra kick in the derrière, you’ll have oodles of examples of how I used the laugh-inducing tips and tricks in my own award-winning contemporary and paranormal romantic comedies.
This book may cause you to forever see the world through a haze of hilarity.
132 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 28, 2022
7 people are currently reading
13 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
April 6, 2022
Homework for the craft book club at Great Lakes Fiction Writers.
As Saavik said to Admiral Kirk: "Humor. A difficult concept."
You know what's even more difficult? GOBS of homework, to stretch your humor muscles (Didn't know you had one, did you? Well, what do you think is attached to your funny bone?) (On another note, it seems some people lack both a funny bone and humor muscles. Too bad. Humor should be considered a survival skill in life, not just in writing!)
The author gives lots of examples for all the different kinds of humor and approaches to assembling a joke or humorous scene or creating one-liners. And how to apply different kinds of humor and techniques for different situations. And for every chapter she has exercises -- aka HOMEWORK!
This is one of those books where you read it through to get the general idea of what's there, and a good idea of what you need to focus on. Then you go back and do the homework, study the examples, and accept the fact that it's not a one-and-done. You gotta exercise those humor muscles constantly, to make it work.
I must confess, I voted for a different book for the club to read last month, but I'm kinda-sorta glad the majority chose this one. Useful! And it reinforced my own assessment of my own brand of humor. Snark. Pointing out the insanity of the world around me, and trying not to whimper too loudly when it's proved again and again that I -- speaking through my POV character -- am the only sane person for miles around .... Maybe!
As Saavik said to Admiral Kirk: "Humor. A difficult concept."
You know what's even more difficult? GOBS of homework, to stretch your humor muscles (Didn't know you had one, did you? Well, what do you think is attached to your funny bone?) (On another note, it seems some people lack both a funny bone and humor muscles. Too bad. Humor should be considered a survival skill in life, not just in writing!)
The author gives lots of examples for all the different kinds of humor and approaches to assembling a joke or humorous scene or creating one-liners. And how to apply different kinds of humor and techniques for different situations. And for every chapter she has exercises -- aka HOMEWORK!
This is one of those books where you read it through to get the general idea of what's there, and a good idea of what you need to focus on. Then you go back and do the homework, study the examples, and accept the fact that it's not a one-and-done. You gotta exercise those humor muscles constantly, to make it work.
I must confess, I voted for a different book for the club to read last month, but I'm kinda-sorta glad the majority chose this one. Useful! And it reinforced my own assessment of my own brand of humor. Snark. Pointing out the insanity of the world around me, and trying not to whimper too loudly when it's proved again and again that I -- speaking through my POV character -- am the only sane person for miles around .... Maybe!
May 28, 2025
Short useful book, great for writers looking to up their humor game.
I saw Lisa speak on humor writing at a conference for Authors and her talk was so useful that I bought this book. I love that it cuts right to the point and has you learning about humor writing from page one. She breaks down how to write funny characters (using the 'Fab Five' character archetypes, which is SO useful) and has technique advice from many famous comedians. I will refer to this over and over while writing and editing my book.
I saw Lisa speak on humor writing at a conference for Authors and her talk was so useful that I bought this book. I love that it cuts right to the point and has you learning about humor writing from page one. She breaks down how to write funny characters (using the 'Fab Five' character archetypes, which is SO useful) and has technique advice from many famous comedians. I will refer to this over and over while writing and editing my book.
March 3, 2022
This book is packed full of tools and tips and easy-to-follow examples to help writers accomplish exactly what the title promises. I thoroughly enjoyed this gem of a book, and look forward to implementing all my new learning. Highly recommended.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews