a funny man’s take on writing humour: a guest post by Steve Pitt
Awhile back, I asked you what topics you might like to see covered on the blog and several of you replied with some great ideas. Since then, we’ve introduced a myriad of topics, including book reviews and numerous guest posts on a wide variety of topics.
This week, at the request of “California Girl,” we bring you a column on what makes us laugh and how to be funny in your creative efforts by one of my favourite funny guys, author Steve Pitt. That’s Steve on the left with one of his favourite sources for humour … his canine buddy, Der Uberhund. Below are Steve’s reflections on what makes us laugh …
Only When I Laugh
Not long ago I watched an interview of one ofmy humour heroes, Chuck Jones. Jones was the creative genius behind many of thefunniest Looney Tunes cartoons I have enjoyed all my life. But humour wassometimes a mystery even to him. In the interview Jones described the shock andsurprise he and his animation team experienced when a gag they thought washilarious provoked a completely opposite response from the audience.
Thecartoon was about a tough guy bulldog becoming paternal towards a tiny adorablekitten. Despite the dog’s best efforts to be protective the lively littlefeline ends up in a bowl of his owner’s cookie batter. The audience sees thekitten escape from the batter but the fretting bulldog does not. He watches inever increasing anguish as his clueless human owner proceeds to use an electricmixer, rolling pin and then cookie cutter on the dough before popping it in ahot oven to bake. In what the human thinks is an act of highest kindness shepresents the nearly now nearly catatonic dog with a fresh baked cookie – shapedexactly like his kitten.
Jones and his team thought that joke was the funniest gag in the script but when theyscreened the cartoon for test audiences people burst into tears at the sight ofthe dog’s subsequent grief stricken sobs. The animators thought that becausethe audience saw the kitten escape they would laugh at the dog’s gullibility.Instead, the audience empathized with his grief even though they knew it wasmisplaced. Fortunately, the relief of seeing the dog and his kitten reunitedbrought the audience full circle and the cartoon, called “Feed the Kitty”, isremembered as one of Jones’ finest works.
The cartoon alsoillustrates how closely our tear ducts are connected to our funny bones. Theexpression, “I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry…” or that old wisecrack responseto the question “Does it hurt? -Only when I laugh…” derive from that fact.
There is a lot ofhumour out there – most of it bad. Every day we are bombarded with raw jokesfrom radio shock jocks, vicious tv political pundits, mindless formulaic sitcombabble and that one cyber friend/relative we all have who auto-forwards everyJOKE and CARTOON he/she receives REGARDLESS of whether it is FUNNY or NOT.(I’ll probably stop getting e-mails after this).
But the humourthat really sticks to your ribs is the kind that makes you laugh with someone,not at them. It doesn’t bully or embarrass. It finds your humanity and ticklesit but sometimes it brings a tear to your eye while making you belly laugh. Andyou will probably find it in a good book not on a bestseller list somewhere.
Since 1979 Steve Pitt has been published innumerous magazines and newspapers including Chatelaine, Canadian Living, TorontoLife, The New Quarterly, the Globe and Mail and Legion Magazine. In 1980, hewon the top Periodicals Distributors Authors’ Award for humour for an articleabout gourmet groundhog which appeared in Harrowsmith magazine. When Steve Pittapplied to culinary school in 2004 he was told by the registrar of HumberCollege that, judging by his high school English marks, she did not believethat he had the language comprehension skills necessary to be a cook. Sincethen he has published seven books for young adults and one collection ofimmature short stories for adults. Steve is not a bad cook, either. His websiteis http://stevepitt.ca/ and his blog is http://youdontknowspitt.wordpress.com/.
Have you ever tried to write something funny? Did it turn out as you had hoped?
Let us know if you have any specific questions about how to gear yourself up for the funnies. I’ve had my own challenge trying to write humorous speeches for Toastmasters, and it definitely doesn’t come easy to me!
I am glad to read your post and to be part of it. I will be back to check more of your post.
Telling good jokes can improve your health and strengthen your relationships — but only in the right context.
Some laughs at nothing while others have their own way of interpreting humors. There’s a saying that you can’t please everybody, that’s true actually. Sometimes visual is more likely more understanding rather than reading…
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Keep trying! I don't think humour comes naturally to many of us. But slowly, and with practice, we can learn to incorporate more humour in our communications, whether they be written or spoken.
That's what I like about Toastmasters. It really does give you the opportunity to try your hand at humour in a safe and encouraging environment. There's bound to be a club not-too-far from you. Check it out at http://www.toastmasters.org/ and thanks for joining us here on the blog.
Hi Doreen! This is a great post. I only laugh with humor but I can't be humorous. It's always a BIG fail.
You're so right, Suzanne. Humour is difficult to do well, whether it be in the written or spoken form.
As a seasoned Toastmaster, I still find it difficult to weave humour into my speeches. I've worked at it over the years and have seen improvement, but I still have a long way to go!
Cheers, and all the best to you in 2012.
Doreen.
Hi, Doreen,
Great post! I think humor is difficult to do well – both for writers and actors. But it's fun to try to be funny! And, with practice, we can get better and better (and funnier and funnier) at it!
Suzanne Lieurance
The Working Writer's Club
Thanks for dropping by the blog, Sherryl and Lanre.
You are both so right in saying that humour is timeless and brings life to any writing. If we add a bit of levity to what we are doing, saying or writing, I think it makes more of an impact on people. People like to laugh and to feel good.
If you can do that with your writing, they will want to read more of it.
I love watching cartoons, though one would expect that I should have grown out of that by now. It's simply because of the humor it brings along with the story line.
Being a quiet person, I thought the ability to say jokes was a talent until I discovered I had a few traits myself. It felt good making others laugh. There is nothing that's impossible to learn. You just have to know what it is you want and go for it.
I also agree, good jokes are timeless. In fact, like wine, some jokes get funnier over time. I wonder how that happens. Thanks to this post Doreen, I'll include humor in my to do list.
I don't remember that cartoon Doreen but I grew up watching Looney. Some of them are classics. I've never attempted to write something funny but I do try to interject a little humor in my blog posts occasionally. I think humor reminds everyone that we're human. It makes it personal. That was a fun post! Thanks.
Thanks so much for joining the blog, RaeBeth. I think that humour is not something that can be forced. It must flow naturally and organically from the soul.
As Steve says, it's about looking at everyday moments and finding the levity in them. We all love to laugh at ourselves and how silly everyday moments can be. Good luck in finding the lighter side of life.
I hope this works. I'm not at my normal computer in the woods because I had to go to Toronto for a couple of business appointments plus pick up a few cooking ingredients you don't normally find in the Near North (try finding Tree Ears or curry leaves in Bonfield). So now I'm hunched over like a gargoyle on the edge of my son's livingroom couch typing on his Mac laptop which is a fine machine but for some reason everything is in a different place.
For me, humour is like a pearl. The finished product looks smooth and pretty but the original inspiration came from irritation. Many of my humour stories came from somebody grating on my nerves or me grating on theirs', intentionally or not. Fortunately modern life provides plenty of inspiration for humour. Cell phones. Tv remotes. Anti-theft packaging. Other people's music. Even trying to figure out how to post on this blog from a strange computer is proving to be a challenge because it insists that I call myself anonymous.
Steve Pitt
Lurking in Toronto
I've come across those blogs where I just fell in love with the writing because it was so funny. Not arrogant funny either. Down right funny. I've even attempted writing some funny posts myself when I first began my blog. Though I wasn't followed by many, I didn't get the response I wanted. Therefore, I would love to learn more tricks and trades for funny writing. Therefore, I'll be doing some searching. Thanks for posting. *By the way, new follower*
Enjoyed your column, Marg. Thx for pointing me/us to it.
Yes, Steve has quite the wit! He actually published a book of his posts to our writer's listserv. I was thrilled, as he always cracked me up with his ability to take an everyday event and make it sound/seem hilarious – much like Jerry Seinfeld. I hope Steve won't mind that comparison.
What an interesting idea for a post, Doreen! and thank you for introducing us to Steve Pitt and his blog.
Ah, Chuck Jones!! He was a genius. Thank you, Steve, for the link and for the story which shows that even the pros sometimes surprise themselves.
What I've found interesting about writing is often the pieces I've really worked on have just laid there, while something I just wrote, as one would write a note to a friend, worked.
This was one quickie that surprised me
http://imturning60help.blogspot.com/2010/07/eclipse-that-kristen-stewart-being-60.html
Thanks for joining the blog, Brian.
You've hit the nail on the head! The best humour is timeless. Something you can read or look at time and time again and still get pleasure from it.
And yes, that video to the cartoon Steve writes about is terrific! Thank goodness for youtube!
Please join us here again soon.
Doreen.
I remember that cartoon. It made me tear up for the dog. I was very relieved when it had a happy ending.
I've written quite a few blahg posts that took aim at the funny bone. I won't send it out,until I have a few good bits that make me laugh. Those usually hit the mark. What often surprises me is that some of the 'so so' parts actually get a great response.
What I find most satisfying is reading an old blog post and rediscovering a phrase and laughing. If I've forgotten about it and I still chuckle, then I feel a great sense of pride. It is an "I can't believe I wrote that" moment. They are the best.
Great post. 🙂