When I started work on my first novel, I didn\u2019t set out to write something funny. My priority was to craft something relatable: a story that would resonate with readers, as well as entertain them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In pursuit of realism, I hit upon an important truth: real life \u2013 mine<\/em>, anyway \u2013 involves endless mishaps, missteps and mistakes that can either be laughed at or cried over. Like most of us, I typically choose to chuckle \u2013 and pretty quickly, I found myself squeezing something sweet from the proverbial lemons my protagonists\u2019 lives served up, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Three (almost four!) books in, I feel like I\u2019ve found my comedy groove. Here are five things I\u2019ve learned about writing to raise a smile \u2013 or, if you\u2019re lucky, a belly laugh \u2013 from your reader.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1. Characters drive comedy (and plot)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n In almost every funny book, film or play there\u2019ll be at least one character who\u2019s inherently amusing. Sometimes this will be because they subvert a clich\u00e9: think Sister Michael, the hilariously misanthropic nun from Lisa McGee\u2019s Derry Girls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Elsewhere, a character might have comedy chops because they embody<\/em> a clich\u00e9. Jane Austen\u2019s Mr Collins epitomises the kind of pompous, hectoring clergyman that nobody wants to sit next to in the drawing room.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you\u2019re creating a purely comedic character, bear in mind that they can\u2019t exist only for the lols. They must serve a purpose or advance your plot. Sister Michael is the Derry Girls\u2019 main antagonist, frequently an obstacle to their scheming. Meanwhile, when Lizzy, the plucky heroine of Pride and Prejudice<\/em>, rejects Mr Collins\u2019 proposal, he marries her friend instead. This throws Lizzy more squarely into the path of Mr Darcy, who (spoiler alert!) is her perfect match.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2. Don\u2019t pull your punches \u2013 but throw them carefully<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n An important note on \u2018laugh at\u2019 characters: always punch up<\/em>, not down. If you\u2019re inviting your readers to find someone ridiculous, make sure they deserve it \u2013 and that they\u2019re risible by choice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Self-importance, snobbery and wilful ignorance are awful qualities in a dinner party guest, but brilliant foibles for a character you want readers to find funny.<\/p>\n\n\n\n My advice for writing such a person? Imagine someone you\u2019d actively avoid in the workplace, would hide from at a family wedding or might refuse to get in a lift with, just in case<\/em> it got stuck. Then, make them ten times worse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 3. Be specific<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Close attention to detail can really help you nail a comedy character. Do they have a ridiculously elaborate hairstyle, or waft around in a cloud of too-strong perfume? Have they adopted a super posh, royal family-style accent, despite being from a small town in the middle of nowhere? <\/p>\n\n\n\n Think about little things that will help you to show<\/em>, not tell, why this person is begging to be laughed at.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 4. Comedy and empathy are cousins<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Your next step is to force your poor, unsuspecting main character to interact with whoever you\u2019ve just made up. If you\u2019re as mean as I am, you might make the supercilious dullard their boss, or the interfering, hysterical fusspot their mother.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Putting someone your readers care about in a toe-curlingly awkward situation is not only a quick way to garner laughs \u2013 it\u2019s a powerful way to stoke empathy, too. Who among us hasn\u2019t experienced crushing embarrassment, or the intense frustration of having to be polite to someone they\u2019d prefer to give a piece of their mind?<\/p>\n\n\n\n