Injecting humor into your writing

by Mary Emma Allen

I never thought of myself as a humor writer, but I always wanted to develop this ability. Recently a family incident "tickled my funny bone" and I sent it to an inspirational ezine.

The editor said she'd like to use it in her humor ezine. It was funny and showed family relationships as well, she said. This is just what I've been wanting to accomplish for years, I thought.

Look For the Humor in Life

To write with humor, look for the funny situations in your life. I've discovered that humor helps me face many of life's challenges...whether it's raising a family, helping with grandchildren, coping with my mom's Alzheimer's disease, recovering from a broken back, or dealing with economic ups and downs.

Instead of treating every challenge with a negative outlook, see where the humor lies. "Counting Snowmen" evolved from teaching my grandson to count. "Modernizing Mom" came to mind when I reminisced about my daughter trying to get me to act and dress like the younger mothers of her teenaged friends. "Feeding Chickens" dealt with my mother's imaginary chickens after her mind became hazy with Alzheimer's.

You're Not Laughing at People

When you write about humorous incidents in your life, laugh with love, not sarcasm. It's possible to find the funny focus of an incident that doesn't put the person down, doesn't make them look foolish.

Instead, take the brunt of the fun yourself; or write the incident in such a way that the humor caused by the other person ends up teaching you something.With "Counting Snowmen," I related the humor about the frustrations of teaching a child to count. But the story ended with my learning to look at situations through a young child's eyes and gaining insight into life.

Others Like to Laugh

When we laughed at humorous things my mom did, we weren't laughing at her or poking fun at her. Humor was one way we could deal with the situations caused by her Alzheimer's. Otherwise we, and possibly she, would have cried.

This became evident to me when Mother commented, as we laughed about one of these incidents, "We don't laugh enough, do we?"  I realized she didn't think we were laughing at her. In fact, she seemed  relieved that we laughed at what could have been a frustrating incident, rather than scold her.

Are Humor Writers Born?

Some people think they can't write humor because people have to be born with this ability. I feel we can develop this as we learn to regard life...not without a sense of responsibility and sensitivity...but with a lighter outlook as we try to find a way to make it through the day with less frustration.

*Look at situations through the eyes of a child. They bring humor into your life.

*Consider whether a situation you're facing will cause hardship or laughter five years from now. Laugh at it now.

*Keep a smile on your face. People are more likely to treat you to laughter rather than frowns.

*Look at simple, ordinary incidents and use a "might have been" or "what if?" approach when you desire to find the "funny factor" to write about.

*Laugh at yourself and write about it. Don't put yourself down; instead see uplifting humor in the situation.

*Look for the brighter side of a situation and find that laughter will invigorate your life and your writing.

Yes, humor writing will take work. (It seems to come easier for some people than others.) But having an outlook that seeks the humor in situations will help with your writing and with facing life.

Before you know it, you'll be considered a humor writer!

(c) 2001, Mary Emma Allen

Mary Emma Allen's humor and inspirational articles may be found on www.2theheart.com and www.hearttouchers.com and in her "Country Kitchen" columns. She also writes children's stories, newspaper and magazine columns, fiction and non-fiction books and teaches writing workshops. Visit her Web site or contact Mary Emma by e-mail.