- Level
- Intermediate
- Basic and Premium Members Prices
- Premium Member $25 & Basic Member $35
- Category
- Structure
- Shorts/Novella
- Voice
Do you want to write a funny novel or short story? Or perhaps you'd like to add humor to the book you've already written? If so, then this is the course for you.
Some of the areas covered in this two week course, include--
The difference between funny and humorous.
What makes something fun to read.
The importance of character.
The three main places to use humor.
Specific techniques that will improve your ability to make your novel or short story
humorous.
Joke constructions and patterns that help us get laughs.
Learning how the masters, like Janet Evanovich, make their novels funny.
Editing the humor.
Some of the areas covered in this two week course, include--
The difference between funny and humorous.
What makes something fun to read.
The importance of character.
The three main places to use humor.
Specific techniques that will improve your ability to make your novel or short story
humorous.
Joke constructions and patterns that help us get laughs.
Learning how the masters, like Janet Evanovich, make their novels funny.
Editing the humor.
- Syllabus
- Intro and Lecture One
The two types of novels—dramatic and funny.
Why we need humor in dramatic novels. Types of
humorous novels--the challenged character, family,
fantasy, the wisecracker.
Lecture Two
The difference between 'funny' on TV and
'funny' in a novel. What is a premise?
Creating humorous premises. The importance of
character for humor to work.
Lecture Three
Why people laugh at certain characters.
Techniques to make your characters funny—
opposites, exaggeration, misinterpretation,
funny situations.
Lecture Four
Where to put the 'funny' in a novel--narration,
introspection, description, dialogue. Using
exaggeration in description. Ranting.as a way
to create humorous material.
Lecture Five
More humor techniques--the rug pull, similes, the
long sentence, joke patterns (the three joke and the
surprise joke.)
Lecture Six
Editing humor
Case studies of funny writers--Dave Barry, Janet Evanovich,
Lee Martinez, David Rosenfelt.
