Writing Humour
It’s good to hear humour on these gray winter days. Youtube is a great source for it. May I suggest Jeanne Robertson or Stuart McLean if you’re in need of laughter? There’s the building of the story, the twist of meaning, and the pause that lets the thought sink in.
Do you have a knack for laugh lines? Will it be a humorous story from your memories? Like any other writing, studying those who handle humour well is worthwhile.
Delivering humour from the stage is an art. Toastmasters is a great place to try it out. You might first write a piece and then practise delivering it. Though it’s not a natural medium for me, I’ve watched others in our district contests do it very well.
I’ve had the privilege of seeing and hearing both Stuart McLean and Phil Callaway perform on stage. I never laughed so much as I did on hearing them.
As a writer though, I wonder about their process, how they go about developing the story.
All three of these people have had books published. Copies of Vinyl Café are widely available in Canada, and you can find videos online of all three humorists.
If you lean toward humour, it’s worth cultivating, both listening and in writing it, even if you’re not going to do stand-up comedy professionally.
Again the question, do they write out an idea and then perform, or do they try it out, record it, and then write it down? Perhaps they all have had their own process. Whatever it is, they have a gift for making their audience laugh and that’s good any day.