You know...if you were to ask most actors what’s really the most difficult emotions to pull off on screen, you might think that it would be intense anger, or being able to cry on screen during a sad or dramatic moment...but actually, it’s laughing. All blooper reels aside and how fun it looks behind the scenes, finding a way to convincingly laugh in front of the cameras...especially while adhering to a script that you’ve read and memorized a million times, is a true skill among some of the best actors out there. And they deserve applause for it. It takes a genuine feel for comedy, it takes timing, expert delivery, and a sense of humor that reaches way outside of the current situation.

Humor is a very fickle taste for a lot of people. You can get your audience to rage with a fury, or tear up and cry over an injustice, as anyone with any sense of empathy can easily tune in and gain access to those emotions without much effort when given the proper context to the story itself. Humor is a bit different, though. Not everybody finds the same things funny. Some have a different sense of humor, some have to really be caught off guard to laugh, some people get offended easily...it all depends. It’s such a versatile area to work within that it can be extremely difficult for any writer to find a sense of balance that will be surprising and refreshing, while still being non-offensive.

Does this mean that your sense of humor has to be ‘safe’ or tamed to the point of being completely sterile? Of COURSE not! The subjects that people laugh hardest at are the ones that people know they should probably feel BAD for laughing at! Hehehe...if comedy is a sin, then I’m sure that I secured an extra hot spot in Hell by the time I was ten years old! So don’t make that your number one concern when it comes to writing a comical story, or simply adding comical parts to a story that you’re already involved in.

Honestly, the people that I’ve met and used to hang around with...who always have a smile on their faces and make fun of everything around them, much to our entertainment...they tend to be very dark people once you actually get a chance to sit down and talk with them. People with horrific pasts and issues that they have yet to deal with. This is the honest truth.

Think about all of the comedians that you know and love in the public eye who can’t hold a family life together, or are dealing with mental issues, were abused or molested as children, or struggle with alcohol addiction and drug abuse. The cast of Saturday Night Live alone has had more overdoses, murders, suicides, sexual assault cases, etc, than you would imagine a cast full of fun loving, charismatic, and hilarious personalities would ever have. But the truth is...at least for a lot of the most popular comedians...it isn’t always an art. It’s a coping mechanism. It’s the shining light in a dark room of shadows, and it works. The darker the shadows, the harder they work to make the light shine brighter. No matter what.

I don’t want you to think that everyone with a sense of humor is a deeply disturbed or depressed individual! Hehehe, that’s not true at all. There are plenty of people who are just naturally funny, and if you’re one of those people, then add it to your stories and let that part of your personality shine! Go for it. But for some...being able to make light of a truly fucked up situation, or to just use humor to deal with a severe amount of angst and anxiety that your main character may be going through at that moment, can often make for a few fun moments in your story, despite the implications of a much deeper problem. If your readers are fully invested in your characters and what’s going on with them, then the humor will come through naturally and make them smile. Tickle their funny bones! Hehehe, that sounds dirty. But it is what it is.

Me, personally...I have a lot of bad history behind me. Some very sad and hurtful memories, a bunch of scars and attacks on my psyche, and probably more insecurities than I’d ever want to know about if I ever sat down and tried to list them all. So for me, my sense of humor was sort of born out of that madness...and it helped me survive it all. Which is probably why I joke around as much as I do and make fun of pretty much anything that there is to make fun of. And life is stupid….so there’s ALWAYS something to make fun of!!! But it was developed through my need to escape the pain I suffered growing up. And now I find the humor in everything, and it really helps me get through almost anything. Even when times are rough. And you can see that in my stories...in varying degrees, depending on what the story is asking for in order to work. But it’s there. You might see bits and pieces of it in more serious stories like “My Only Escape” (https://gayauthors.org/story/comicality/myonlyescape), but in something more lighthearted like “Jesse-101: Online Celebrity” (https://gayauthors.org/story/comicality/jessie-101onlinecelebrity) the humor is much more evident. I can really play around with it more because of the playful theme and all that’s involved with it. I would really love to take a chance at trying to write an outright comedy, you know? Like...full blown, just to see if I could pull it off and have it be a success. But for now, I’ve been sticking to just having humorous moments in my other stories instead. Especially when it comes to comic relief characters like ‘Preston Miles’ in the “Shelter” series, or ‘Wilson’ in “New Kid In School”. They work to sort of add some levity and fun to my writing whenever I feel things getting a bit heavy, and it’s a temporary break in a story with a darker theme, but I think a full blown comedy would be super fun to write some time!I’d love to try it out, you know?

My first attempt at doing anything like this was a parody on the very genre of erotic stories in general. LOL! It was called “A Fool In Love”, and it was posted as an April Fool’s Day joke. I even got others to post replies and spread the word after they read it to say that it was the best story that I had EVER written, and that more people should check it out right away! Hahaha! Yeah, I had fun with that one! Read it if you ever want to just have a few giggles on me for free!

(https://gayauthors.org/story/comicality/afoolinlove)

Now, there are different kinds of comedy out there, and depending on your own personal taste and the overall theme and character personalities that you’re working with to bring your story to life should play a part in which flavor of humor you decide to go with. Make sure that it matches up with the people involved. Some people like jokes that are waaaay out of left field and come off as so downright ridiculous that they can’t help but to laugh. Just something random. Other people like slapstick humor with people falling down the stairs or getting hit over the head with a big wooden hammer. Others have a taste for something full of insults and sarcastic burns, and some like subtle dry wit. Then you’ve got dark humor, satire and parody, self deprecating, and more. You have to decide what you feel most comfortable with writing (usually whatever is closest to your own personal sense of humor), and attach it to the characters that embody that part of what you find funny. A shy and reserved teen boy isn’t likely to suddenly start making snarky remarks, nor is a dignified gentleman going to turn himself into a total goofball for no reason. Consistency is key when it comes to this kind of this thing, so be sure to stick with it. The one exception being one of your characters delivering a big zinger out of nowhere, which should be as much of a shock to the other characters as it does to your readers. It might be completely out of character...but in that one brief moment, the reaction itself becomes a part of the joke. So it works.

Hehehe, is any of this making any sense? I hope it is...

Basically, if you’re writing a comedic piece, or simply adding a few lighthearted moments to a regular story (Which I would recommend if you can pull it off, as it just makes things fun)...there are a few rules to keep in mind...

#1 – The first, and most important, rule of them all? Learn to laugh at yourself before laughing at anybody else. I think this is a crucial part of having a comical effect in your work. If you can’t take it, don’t dish it out. Plain and simple. It’s not just a matter of being bulletproof when it comes to offensive remarks, and it has nothing to do with being a snowflake. Being able to laugh at yourself can act as a comedic ‘compass’ when it comes to engaging your audience. It allows you to draw your own lines in the sand so you can be aware of what you’re doing or saying with your writing. Self awareness sets boundaries. Stick to them.

#2 – Make it quick! A great joke can be delivered with a single line of dialogue. The truth is...adding comedic elements to your story should carry along with it the illusion of spontaneity. You can have a little bit of build up if you feel it’s warranted, but overall...get to the punchline already. Don’t stretch a single joke out to the point where it needs to be a story in itself. After two or three sentences, it ceases to be funny. Get in, deliver the punch, and get out again to keep the story moving forward. K?

#3 – Know where to place your humor in your story. Telling a joke at a birthday party, telling one at a wedding, and telling one at a funeral, are going to have different ‘feels’ to them. Don’t break up tension or an important emotional moment with a joke if it’s going to ruin the involvement with what’s going on. There are a lot of writers who use this technique to relieve some of the heavy themes being dealt with, and they end up sucking all of the life out of what is really important about that particular scene by adding humor where it’s in direct conflict with the rest of the story. Avoid that at all costs. There will be time for humor before or after it...but sometimes you have to allow other emotions to take center stage and do what they were meant to do. Don’t get shaky and start using humor to shy away from the heavy weight of the scene you might be writing at the time. In real life, this might be a coping mechanism. In fiction, its a wrecking ball to the scene itself. K?

#4 – Understand that not all jokes are in good taste! If that happens to be a character trait, then fine...but make sure that you address that in your fiction. I understand that some people want to be edgy with their humor, and it may come off as being dirty or offensive. But don’t delude yourself into thinking that the rest of the WHOLE fucking world is just being oversensitive and don’t understand humor if they get upset over it. People need to stop that. You know what you said, whether it was because you can’t be funny without it, or you just did it for shock value...there’s a line. When you’re joking around like that, do so with a sense of ‘grace’. You’re in mixed company when you post this stuff online. And if you feel restricted or censored because you’ve offended more than half of your readers with your ‘jokes’, then I’m just going to assume that you’re an asshole. Hehehe, sorry, but it’s true. You’re a writer. And if you’ve got any real talent at all, then you should be able to deliver your comedy without pissing everybody off, or maybe not use it as a crutch at all. Practice. Entertain. And never think that you can just say ‘anything’ without challenge. Do you want a loyal readership or not? It’s up to you.

Just be authentic with your sense of humor and have some fun with the material that you write. I LOVE to laugh! But, for me, the first step was learning to laugh at myself. Once I climbed my way to the top of that hill, everything else came easy. Comedy is just ‘surprise plus exaggeration equals giggles’. Keep that in mind, and use it to your advantage. Even if you’re not naturally funny...life is funny in itself. Point it out. Trust me...you’ll start laughing too. It’s inevitable.

Hope this helps, you guys! I’ll always have humor in my stories no matter how dark or depressing they may seem from the first paragraph. I can’t help it. I have this vivid memory from when I was a little kid, and it was snowing outside, ice on the ground...and my dad slipped and fell on his back while I was sitting in the back seat. Hahaha, and I mean...this was like a full blown, Jerry Lewis, Looney Tunes, slip! Omigod! I couldn’t stop laughing for nearly an HOUR!!! I tried! God knows, I tried! Because I knew that he was going to beat me up and hurt me sooooo bad the next time we were alone. It was going to be an EPIC beating in terms of childhood abuse. But...for that ONE glorious moment...I laughed my fucking ASS off until I had tears running out of my eyes! And it was totally worth it! It really was! I took my angry beating with pride after that.

Humor exists everywhere, in everything that we do. In everything that we are. Even in the darkest of times. And once you realize that, you have the power to translate it and put it into your fiction. So, yeah...do that. Hehehe!

Just understand the nature of humor...what it is, and what it isn’t. Because using it wrong will cause more harm than good. Does that sound ‘funny’ to you?

Seezya soon, folks! I love you lots! And keep smiling for me, k? It’s good for ya!