These are notes I took from a wonderful writing symposium called Life, the Universe, and Everything. We have a lot of talented people in Utah and visitors with a great deal of knowledge. Any Misinformation is the fault of the note taker.
– Write a shake spear story version for a middle grade.
– One author is creating narcissistic love songs for YouTube.
Q: What makes something funny?
– One can think about something and come up with ways of humor
– You have to have certain social norms and break them. Contradict the expectations. It comes down to the surprise.
– If you show a blink off and on to a baby and break the pattern, the baby will laugh.
– Having someone seems as fake (Charly chaplain getting run over is a car https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFQEUCXys9w ) he looks funny and unreal so it gives permission for the view to see it is not real so they can laugh.
– What types of humor and are more effective?
– New people should concentrate on what comes naturally.
– Establish the norm and then break that norm.
– Humor can be defined by the audience. Steve Bobear and Ann Colter each have a separate audience with their own social norms.
– The lowest form of humor is puns.
– There are different forms are humor for different circumstances.
– Something has to be fresh like puns with a fresh spin.
– Humor is like horror. Build the expectation and then deliver.
Q: is it possible to make humor for a wide audience?
– The more specific it is the funnier is.
– The wider you get the fewer universe experience your audience can relate to.
– The universal theme might be high school. We’ve all been in high school or a pop tort from a toaster.
Q: how do you know you’ve gone too far?
– Your audience will usually let you know.
– The time and place change what is funny. Like no more sexist jokes.
– The director of guardians of the galaxy made jokes 12 yrs. ago that he now got in trouble for. Once something is on the internet it’s on the internet forever.
– We live in a time of hyper insensitive. When you stifling comedians it is a form of loss of speech.
– Sketch on sat night live: someone was spelling their name. Spelling business. (could not find it)
– Write an idea for humor and then have the audience respond then rewrite.
– Steven King; will write books for a specific audience. Could write a book geared to a specific beta reader as their audience.
– Dave Berry: good a turning phrases and describing in a new way. Good inspirations for humor
– Danial Pinkwater: picture book and novels
– Book: the legend of Greg is a master at humor.
– Jeanette Rollyson: fun fiction.
– Cartoon: the odd ones out. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCo8bcnLyZH8tBIH9V1mLgqQ
– Eric Snider reviews
– Hugh Laurie: the gun seller. Is a master of phrase and describes someone.
– Steven Fry: a master of wordplay.
– Dark humor: The darker the better. Can help cope with things
– World War 1 soldiers learned dark humor.
– Can face challenges in a positive way.
Q: how to pull off the main character without having a book go off the rails.
– Take loveable sarcasm.
– The legend of Greg.
– If you write in the first person can do it narration. Terry Pratchett.
– Rachel Hockings author
– Flight of the condor book
Q: How to clue in the audience for dry humor?
– May depend on the reader.
– Of the characters may laugh at the question`8o9oi
Have something to add. Please do so in the comment section of this blog.
