by Gina Ardito | Jun 9, 2013 | Advice Whether You Want it or Not, Repetition, Writing Humor
We’re continuing our discussion on the ten key aspects of humor. Number five is repetition.The ultimate example of repetition is Groundhog Day, where Bill Murray’s character, Phil Conners is stuck in Punxatawney on Groundhog Day over and over and...
by Gina Ardito | Jun 7, 2013 | America's Funniest Home Videos, I Love Lucy, Julie Garwood, The Gift, There's Something About Mary, Tosh.O, Transfer of Fear, Writing Humor
Element #4 for adding humor into your manuscript? Transfer of Fear.Ever been to a wedding where someone fell on their butt on the dance floor? You’ve seen the image hundreds of times on America’s Funniest Home Videos and Tosh.O. Ever laugh because you weren’t the...
by Gina Ardito | Jun 6, 2013 | Advice Whether You Want it or Not, Carl Hiassen, Henny Youngman, Reversal, Rita Rudner, Skinny Dip, The Devil Wears Prada, The Rule of Three, Writing Humor
The third element of writing humor is Reversal, a technique similar to The Rule of Three, but with one setup before the payoff. The payoff is achieved by switching the expected in the last line. For example, Henny Youngman’s famous, “Take my wife....
by Gina Ardito | Jun 4, 2013 | Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure, George Carlin, Ghostbusters, Horrible Bosses, The Rule of Three, Writing Humor
Another basic element of humor is the Rule of Three.In The Rule of Three, a writer begins with two segments of a familiar statement to lure the reader in for a big payoff. Think of the old line, “I came, I saw, I conquered.” But there’s where the familiar ends. Who...
by Gina Ardito | Jun 3, 2013 | Advice Whether You Want it or Not, Grumpy Cat, Men in Black, The Princess Bride, Tom Lehrer, Writing Humor
http://cheezburger.com/7485541120Let’s discuss the first major element of writing humor.Aristotle said, “The secret to humor is surprise.” That’s how far back this element goes. I. Surprise: the ability to provide a reaction the reader...
by Gina Ardito | Jun 2, 2013 | A Fish Called Wanda, Advice Whether You Want it or Not, Blazing Saddles, Comedy, Erma Bombeck, Music and Lyrics, Romantic comedy, The Hangover, This is Spinal Tap, Tropic Thunder, Writing Humor, writing tips
One of my more popular workshops over the years has been on writing humor into any story. It’s been a while since I’ve done this one “live,” and I always like to keep my workshops fresh. So as I spent some time updating it, I thought I might...
