Sep 13, 2012 / General Advice & Pro Tips

Focus On: Humor Blogs

“Dying is easy. Comedy is hard,” says Peter O’Toole in My Favorite Year. If you’ve ever tried your hand at humor blogging, you will likely agree. In fact, with the possible exception of the sestina, I’d say humor writing is the most difficult form of writing. To be good, it must be surprising, concise, sharp, timely, and consistent all at once. And humor bloggers turn out such polished gems every week or so. How do they do it? Here are some tips from the pros:

  • Learn the rules. All forms of writing – the essay, the play, the short story – have some well-defined basic parameters and comedy writing is no exception. For example, specifics are funnier than generalizations and repeating something three times is funnier than repeating it two or four times. By mastering the fundamentals, you let those who have come before do some of the work for you.
  • Keep up with the news. Good comedy is timely and relevant, even if it’s not specifically political. The best humor bloggers keep their fingers on the pulse. Read as much as you can, and keep up with what people are currently watching, reading, and talking about.
  • Observe. Comedy is everywhere you look, and, as observational comics have found, sometimes the most ludicrous aspects of daily life are those we’ve grown so used to that we’ve stopped noticing them at all. Look closely at the ordinary and you will discover the absurd.
  • Keep your temper. A controlled, targeted rant can be hilarious, but comedic rants are harder than they look, and even the best ranters grow tiresome after awhile. Outrage can be an excellent starting point for a good comedic piece, but bury that anger in the revision process if you want to reach an audience.
  • Keep us on our toes. Laughter comes from the unexpected. Try turning a familiar pattern on its head. How can you invert a story or a joke to deliver an unexpected conclusion?
  • Draw something. Many popular humor blogs are online comics, and no wonder – the visual aspect gives you an entirely new dimension in which to be funny. And as some of the most beloved sites prove, you don’t need to be an artist to draw a satisfying comic…although if you are, so much the better!
  • Edit, edit, edit. While digressions and non-sequiturs can be amusing, the best humor writing doesn’t have a lot of fat. Look for anything in your piece that’s tired, dull, or not on point. Get rid of it, or replace it with something wittier.

Do you often use humor in your blog posts? Which bloggers make you laugh on a regular basis?

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  1. I’ve just started my fledgeling blog… but I always try to inject some humor into my work. It’s my de-stressing mechanism. Also I think it’s essential to be able to laugh at yourself… and then your problems. Live life on the edge and spit into the wind!…. bring a towel

    Would appreciate any comments or inputs on my site http://journeyintogeekdom.com

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  3. i tend to use my blog for a variety of purposes but i am a great appreciator of humour and so a lot of the time it is reporting on humour such as the asian KFC Colonel Sanders lookalike drummer [http://brettfish.wordpress.com/2012/09/12/he-did-it-his-way] or the latest round of crazily insane japanese game shows [http://brettfish.wordpress.com/2012/08/15/return-of-the-japanese-may-contain-traces-of-silly] but then often when i embrace my own humour it is with blogs that try to draw others in [http://brettfish.wordpress.com/2012/07/31/rejected-olympic-events] and share the humour while my blog also directs people to my primary humour outlet which is Dangerous Things You Can Least Expect videos on You Tube [http://brettfish.wordpress.com/2012/06/30/dangerous-things-you-can-least-expect-and-then-there-were-15] – i think i would like to try write some more pure funny though and these tips and links definitely help!

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  11. “. . .the best humor writing doesn’t have a lot of fat. Look for anything in your piece that’s tired, dull, or not on point. Get rid of it. . .”

    Liposuction for humor-writing? I didn’t see this one coming.

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  12. Rules, schmules! I find if I write the way I talk, and someone reading it pees a little, my job here is complete.
    Just started a blog and still trying to find my way around. Looking forward to following many of you amazing posters who posted before me.

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  13. I love writing humor. If something I write makes someone laugh, it makes my day. I’ve reviewed awful children’s t.v., talked about the craziness in libraries, and most recently have been recapping the 50 Shades of Grey books with the snark they deserve. I’ve met a lot of very funny people through my blogging. This has been a great experience.

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      1. Sorry to hop on the bandwagon but I just posted a parody of “50 Shades of Grey” called “50 Shades of Glazed”. I’d appreciate it if you guys checked it out. 😀

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  15. Great blog and thanks for the much needed tips. I have a sense of humor. I love to laugh. I seek out funny things. My friends and my husband think I’m witty. Yet, when I try to put puns to paper…not so much. Let’s just say it doesn’t oft come across eloquently (or humorously) in writing. Dig these tips. Laughter is potent medicine. I best figure out how to get it across in my writing. Thanks!

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  18. Humour and seriousness are two sides of the one coin. Dorothy Parker said it best: “Wit has truth in it; wise-cracking is simply calisthenics with words”. (insert shameless plug for blog http://heybyronbaby.com/ without attempting to make a segue cos that’s just tacky).

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  20. Assess the following statement: Potatoes are funny. Does it earn humor points if you make a generalization about a specific tuber? What if it is one of the enduring truths of the Universe? What if it’s not topical, but it should be?

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  30. Thing is with comedy, you just got to say what ever you want, no rules. Rant etc. as long as you don’t pick on any one person or racist etc. You have to just be honest and brave and say it. Mine is from rants or politics to my offending the literary establishment. You don’t stop laughing because you get old, you get old because you stop laughing!

    http://jonnygibbings.wordpress.com/ (WARNING rude and often offensive)

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