Inserting Spontaneous Humor
By Lynn Hobbs
Have you ever read a Christian fiction book; either
romance, suspense, or historical, and were amused by an unexpected sense of
humor from one of the characters? I find it outstanding.
If you were to ask me what the hardest part of
writing is that I have encountered, I’d have to reply inserting spontaneous
humor. I have practiced, re-wrote, edited, and am still learning this style of
humor.
As a Christian writer it can be a challenge to insert humor using a non-humorous character. Dry humor is a treasure, but if you are aiming for believable humor it should appear spontaneous.
As a Christian writer it can be a challenge to insert humor using a non-humorous character. Dry humor is a treasure, but if you are aiming for believable humor it should appear spontaneous.
- It
creates a genuine character others can relate to.
- It
shows character growth between characters.
- It
can endear a character to readers who in turn expect the unexpected from
that character, and experience a more enjoyable story.
In “Hidden Creek”, the third book in my Running
Forward Series, I inserted humor in the most unexpected moment for one
character, and it helped readers relate to that certain character. Ben and
Izabella are one of the couples in the book. Ben is a rascal, and Izabella
doesn’t believe they are legally married, but by adding humor to a tense
situation; he became a lovable rascal.
Example:
“…but I want to talk to them.”
“…and I want to go back to Texas. We will not wait hours
for the couple to return. Adious, sayonara, auf wiedersehen, shalom, au revoir,
goodbye…”
Izabella put the car in reverse, and frowned.
You’re not funny…and you can’t play down
the issue…
As a reader, having read the previous pages, Ben
does display a side to his character not shown before. His attempt at humor
makes the reader see him as not a silly character, but one who can slip out of
a tense situation.
As a Christian writer, we all continue to learn our
craft daily. I do admire a writer who can insert spontaneous humor with …in all
appearance…complete ease. At times, it can be a challenge, but I personally
love it!
In the book I am writing now, “Eyes of a Neighbor”,
book one of the American Neighborhood Series, I played with the idea of a
harmless UPS truck in a scary situation for one of the characters. Writing the
scene was a total joy for me, and it did have an unexpected moment of humor.
I can remember, as a teenager, reading the stories
by Alfred Hitchcock that began as typical daily events unfold for some average
character. Hitchcock had little humor, if any at all. A reader became involved
in his suspense, and toward the end of the story, he added a sly bit of humor.
For me personally, now as a writer, it is the ultimate icing on the cake. As a
Christian writer, we insert lessons, and values; creating each character and
each book as carefully as a chef prepares a meal. Inserting humor can be a
delicious slice of pie to that same chef.
I encourage you to experiment with adding
spontaneous humor.
Happy writing!
Lynn
Hobbs is the author of the Running
Forward Series: Sin,
Secrets, and Salvation, River
Town, and Hidden
Creek, and won 1st place Religious Fiction in
2013, 2014 and 2015 by Texas Association of Authors.
Lillie, A Motherless Child won 1st place Biography 2016, TAA.
Her books are available on Amazon. She is currently writing a new Christian Fiction series. Meanwhile, visit Lynn on Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, and her website.
Lillie, A Motherless Child won 1st place Biography 2016, TAA.
Her books are available on Amazon. She is currently writing a new Christian Fiction series. Meanwhile, visit Lynn on Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, and her website.
This entry was posted in Advice, Authors
and writing, Friends
of ACFW, writingand tagged Advice, Friends of ACFW, writing.
Bookmark the permalink.
2 Responses to Inserting
Spontaneous Humor
Carol Ashby says:
This is great advice. How easy it is to
follow probably depends on your own sense of humor. When I was growing up, my
whole family delighted in the well-told joke and the sudden turn of phrase that
could lighten even a serious topic. We raised our kids the same way, filling
our house with chuckles and laughter.
If there’s an underlying joy in a character, it will bubble up spontaneously throughout the work. I love those kinds of characters, and I write them myself. Good-natured teasing and kind-hearted repartee are part of my debut novel, Forgiven, that just released, and there’s a character in my WIP who can’t resist using a snippet of humor to relieve tension even in a deadly serious situation.
Maybe the best way to train ourselves to
write spontaneous humor is to use it often to brighten the days of our
real-life friends.
Lynn Hobbs says:
I agree! We all enjoy a light unexpected
chuckle in the midst of our daily routine, and if you are reading a book and
experience this… I find it awesome! A welcomed surprise!
1 comment:
The on line casino operator can select which EPROM chip to install in any specific machine decide out} the payout desired. The result's that there is probably not such a thing as a excessive payback type of machine, since each machine doubtlessly has multiple of} settings. Without revealing the proprietary data, he developed 바카라사이트 a program that would allow him discover out} with usually less than a dozen performs on each machine which EPROM chip was installed. Then he did a survey of over 400 machines in 70 different casinos in Las Vegas. He averaged the information, and assigned a median payback proportion to the machines in each on line casino.
Post a Comment