{"id":578,"date":"2013-01-08T11:54:35","date_gmt":"2013-01-08T16:54:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.rachelhorwitz.com\/blog\/?p=578"},"modified":"2013-01-08T12:16:05","modified_gmt":"2013-01-08T17:16:05","slug":"on-the-lighter-side","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rachelhorwitz.com\/blog\/2013\/01\/08\/on-the-lighter-side\/","title":{"rendered":"On the Lighter Side"},"content":{"rendered":"

Have you ever read something so cut and dry that it\u2019s like slogging through a pile of cow pies? Even if you like the story concept? We\u2019ve all been there. It happens.<\/p>\n

\"funnycard\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Humor is what makes good stories great and helps give the narrative heart. It creates a sense of voice, for one thing (which as well all know is integral to a good story), but it also can alleviate tension or tragedy. Since I recently saw Les Mis, I feel like it\u2019s a good example here. Obviously, the story is tragic, but the innkeepers provide a much needed break for the teary eyed audience. Even in a dark tone story, humor can be essential.<\/p>\n

But not every character is a bundle of hilarity. Just like not every person can whip out a one-liner at any situation. That doesn\u2019t mean the text has to be bland as well. Perhaps they\u2019re unintentionally funny, or their interactions are awkward and uncomfortable enough to give the reader a giggle. It\u2019s one thing if your character is supposed to be as dry\u00a0\u00a0as sand, but those are few and far between compared to the types of characters that like to joke around, or use humor as a defense mechanism, or a flirting device.<\/p>\n

\"funnycat\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Basically, I\u2019m suggesting that you use humor in your writing at any chance you get. In descriptions and\u00a0dialogue, in varying ways by different characters. Now you\u2019re probably wondering, what does that mean<\/i>? Well, there\u2019s really no way for me to say, here\u2019s a sentence that has no humor and here\u2019s one with humor because everyone\u2019s sense of humor is different. There\u2019s\u00a0 a range of silly things from slap-stick to highbrow comedy and each level can be funny, sure, but one joke may appeal to some but not others. It\u2019s as subjective as stories themselves. And that\u2019s precisely why they\u2019re so diverse and enjoyable.<\/p>\n

Thankfully, because humor is something that ties people together, you are most likely to entertain the majority of readers with even mild humor. If you have a knack for being funny, use your talents! However, if you don\u2019t believe you are a funny person, but want to include humor in your story, read books written by comedians, or watch your favorite sitcom, cartoon or comedy film. Moreover, there\u2019s inspiration for humor even in the most mundane things. Think of all the jokes built around banana peels. Believe me, you can<\/i> write humor. You\u2019ll laugh at how easy it can be.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s your favorite funny character? Or your favorite funny book?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Have you ever read something so cut and dry that it\u2019s like slogging through a pile of cow pies? Even if you like the story concept? We\u2019ve all been there. It happens. Humor is what makes good stories great and helps give the narrative heart. It creates a sense of voice, for one thing (which […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[64,41,60,30,54,20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-578","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-audience","category-characters","category-description","category-dialogue","category-emotion","category-writing-tips"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2YHlB-9k","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rachelhorwitz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/578","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rachelhorwitz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rachelhorwitz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rachelhorwitz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rachelhorwitz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=578"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.rachelhorwitz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/578\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":580,"href":"https:\/\/www.rachelhorwitz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/578\/revisions\/580"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rachelhorwitz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=578"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rachelhorwitz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=578"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rachelhorwitz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=578"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}