writing class radio 8: You Don't Have to be a Clown to Write Funny
This episode is about writing humor. Andrea tells a joke only she thinks is funny, then calls our humor expert, Jay Wexler, who confirms just how funny her joke is. Jay is an attorney and the author of five books.
Later in the show, Jay shares his ten suggestions for writing humor. Andrea adds four. Together, they have 14 suggestions for writing humor.
Terry DeMeo introduces herself before telling a story in front of a live audience, at Lip Service. In her own words, Terry wonders about who she is. She’s a former lawyer and currently a life coach. Also a writer. The story Terry tells is about undying her hair, but you’ll realize as she realizes that the story is about much more than hair. She tells her story in front of a live audience in Miami. Andrea notes that while many of the audience members are over 40 years old, no one lets her hair go gray, except Andrea. Terry’s story is called Fifty Shades of Gray.
Jay Wexler’s 10 Humor Commandments (Plus Four):
1. Do not start with a joke.
2. Piggy back on the absurd hilarity of the world.
3. Use self-deprecation.
4. Stuck? Break into a non-prose element, like a chart or graph.
5. Write about bad or awkward sex.
6. Mine your pain and humiliation.
7. When in doubt--deadpan. Less is more.
8. Be brutal in your editing.
9. Don't feel funny? Get your ass out of the chair!
10. Add an animal.
11. State the obvious.
12. Use call-backs.
13. Land on the joke.
14. Create surprise.
After hearing Terry’s story, Andrea goes through Jay’s ten humor suggestions and shows how Terry used many of them successfully. You don’t have to be a clown to write humor, you just have to be willing to face your fear.
Writing Class Radio is a podcast where you’ll hear true personal stories and learn a little about how to write your own stories. Writing Class Radio is equal parts heart and art. By heart we mean the truth in a story. By art we mean the craft of writing. No matter what’s going on in our lives, writing class is where we tell the truth. It’s where we work out our shit, and figure out who we are.
There’s no place in the world like writing class and we want to bring you in.
Writing Class Radio is co-hosted by Allison Langer (www.allisonlanger.com) and Andrea Askowitz (www.andreaaskowitz.com). Writing Class Radio is produced by Diego Saldana-Rojas, Andrea Askowitz and Allison Langer.
Visit our musicians page to learn about the talented and generous people who allowed us to use their songs.
There’s more writing class on our website(www.writingclassradio.com), Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/writingclassradio/) and Twitter (@wrtgclassradio).
If you love the lessons you get on each episode, you can get them ALL in one place--our three-part video series. $20 for one part or $50 for the series. Click on Video Classes on our website.
Writing Class Radio is now open to submissions from our listeners. Go to the submissions page on our website for guidelines. We pay!
If you want to be a part of the movement that helps people better understand each other through storytelling, please go to writingclassradio.com and hit the DONATE button.