Humor is something that thrives between man’s aspirations and his limitations. There is more logic in humor than in anything else. Because you see, humor is truth.
~Victor Borge

A Trick to Writing Humor

Writing humor seems to be difficult for most people. It can be likened to trying to be funny and instead, producing a “you had to be there” situation. When the question, ”How do you write humor” arises, I often refer to my own introduction to the subject.

Years ago I took a writing class and Max, the instructor, asked the class to write about one of their “guilty pleasures.” She defined a guilty pleasure as something experienced as pleasurable while at the same time feeling guilty for enjoying it. As the class settled into writing, sporadic, under-the-breath laughter could be heard breaking the silence in the room. After about 20 minutes, she asked each of us to read our piece to the class. Once the reading began, laughter could be heard throughout the building.

We can all relate to the feeling of enjoying something we think we shouldn’t be enjoying. If the class had been a group of people under 10, the writing might have revealed such pleasures as bodily noises or jumping out of closets when a parent or sibling least expected it; but we were a group of adults between the ages of 20 and 65. Our guilty pleasures ranged from eating something you knew wasn’t good for you, to buying something you couldn’t really afford, getting something for nothing, reading a novel in the middle of the day during the week, and doing something that would ruin you if anyone found out. Since we knew we’d be reading our pleasures to the class, we didn’t get too many from the last category.

So what makes guilty pleasures so funny? We all have them. We might not use the term “guilty pleasure,” but I haven’t met many who upon hearing the term didn’t immediately know what it meant. It’s easier for some to admit to theirs while others pretend to be mystified. But when push comes to shove, we can each cough up at least one or two of them.

What makes them so funny is that they are relatable. We’ve all either been there before or close by. Comedians make megabucks getting us to laugh till it hurts by being self-effacing or making fun of others. And why is this so funny? Because we can join them in the experience—we can relate.

It’s part of our culture to seek approval and rebuff disapproval. But this doesn’t stop us from doing what we really want to do; we just do it when we think no one is watching. For some, this makes it even more fun and for others, the guilt will put them on tilt! Comedians, and good, humorous writers, bring all this to the surface.

So one of the exercises I assign in my writing workshops is “guilty pleasures.” Everyone becomes an instant writer of humor. I Googled “guilty pleasures” and was surprised to see that there was actually such a category on the net.
I found the following— a guilty pleasure is something:

• You would listen to, but sure as hell wouldn’t wear a t-shirt in public of
• You like it but wouldn’t tell anyone
• That you pretend to like ironically, but secretly really like
• Cool whip
• Big Red Dog house slippers
• Staying home to watch Nascar in pajamas
• M&Ms and a diet coke…

I could see how each of these might make someone feel guilty, but the last one had me. The only difference is, although a diet coke makes anything taste better, in my book it needs no accompaniment.  True confession—at the time diet coke was my #1 guilty pleasure. If you’re a fan, you’ll relate to the piece I wrote in Max’s class.

Glug, Glug, Glug!
The way it explodes in my mouth, slides down my throat, and gives me a borderline brain freeze—sheer ecstasy—better than chocolate. Some can drink it out of a can. Not me. Either a glass or a large paper cup, light ice, and a slice of lemon, please. Doesn’t matter how bad the day gets, where there’s diet coke, there’s a way.

Leaving the workshop I attended, I agree to meet all the facilitators at Linda’s house. I arrange it so I can drive alone. My mind scans the route from here to my destination. Lucy’s corner market appears on my inner screen. I head in that direction, my mouth watering as if I’d been in the desert for three weeks with no fluids and none in sight. I park my car, walk to the entrance, open the door, and head to the back of the store where the soda fountain resides. I pull a medium cup from the stack, fill it with ice about one-quarter of the way full and then press the cup against the prong marked DIET COKE. I listen to the fizzy, dark bronze liquid hit the ice and my mouth salivates. Unable to control myself much longer, I pull the half-filled cup from the fountain and take two long gulps of heaven. My body relaxes and once again I’m able to proceed and fill the cup to the top. Ah, satisfaction. I glance at the other selections – Dr. pepper, Diet-Pepsi, Squirt, Root Beer – no competition for my FAV!

If you want to try your hand at writing a humorous piece, try writing a guilty pleasure. Write it with as much detail as possible. Take your reader on a journey through your own neurosis. It’s easier than you think. Besides, everyone likes being let in on someone else’s secrets. If you’d like to share yours, email it to me. Let me know if you’d like me to include it in the next newsletter.

Enjoy!

Jasmyne